The flight of Icarus (former Mississippi Queen)
by GalliaDavia
Summary: Barney Ross is asked to help out an old friend in distress. A Barney Ross/OC story about planes, tattoos and the man with the unbelievable crow and skull tattoo...things start rollin slowly, so please give it a chance. Please read and review. Rated T for now. Just changed the title because of too many queens around recently *g*
1. Chapter 1

_I don´t own any of the Expendables characters. Please read and review._

* * *

Late on a Friday afternoon, Tool watched Barney enter the tattoo shop.

„Hey, brother, how you´re doing ?"

„Hey."

Despite the short answer, the Expendables leader looked quite relaxed.

„I brought you the stuff you wanted", he told Tool.

„Great, man, thanks. They had everything in stock ?"

„Yeah."

Tool sat back and looked at his latest draft.

„Pepper called today."

„Pepper ? Pepper O´Riley ?"

„Yeah." Tool nodded. „Three times."

„I gave her my number ..."

„...after the funeral."

Tool sat back, sighing.

„I know."

„She´s alright ?" Barney inquired.

Tool shrugged.

„She didn´t say much. But..."

The phone rang, interrupting him.

„That´s probably her again", the tattoo artist said with a shrug, picking up the phone.

* * *

„Hey Barney, it´s me, Pepper!"

„Hey, girl, how are you ?"

„I am good. Could be better, but good. Happy birthday, darling!"

Barney threw Tool an irritated look.

„Well, uh, thanks..."

Tool listend in on the for him one-sided call, eyebrows raised.

„We´re gonna go for your traditional birthday dinner ? This time without Victor then ?"

Barney exchanged a confused look with Tool and made a helpless gesture.

„Yeah, sure."

„You´re up for a drink before dinner ? So at five at Danny´s beach bar ?"

„Yeah, why not."

„Great! See you there then ?"

„Five o´clock, darlin´ !"

„Great! Bye!"

„Bye."

Barney handed Tool the phone back.

„What the hell was that all about ?" Tool inquired.

„Seems that you forgot my birthday", Barney told him, looking nonplussed.

„Your birthday ?"

„There _is_ trouble", Barney told him. „Or I celebrated my birthday for decades at the wrong day."

* * *

When Barney arrived at the meeting point, Pepper was already there.

She sat on one of several stone cubes which served as a boundary between the quai and the water and had turned her back to him, still, he recognized her immediately from her delicate built as well as from her upright posture.

The picture reminded him somehow on the first time he had met her, about twenty years ago. Back then, she had sat on a bench with her back to him as well, a dainty figure in jeans and a white blouse.

Pepper turned and spotted him, waving a hand.

He nodded casually back and watched her getting up. The breeze made her dark hair stream out behind her.

Back then, she had held her only some weeks old baby son in her arms. Barney had met Jesse O´Riley three months ago at the funeral of his father, who had been a brother in arms to Barney. Back then, Barney had realized in surprise that the boy was a grown-up now, and a member of the Marine Corps, the proud young man a spitting image of his father, with the only difference that he had inherited his mother´s jade green eyes.

„Hey!" he said.

„Hey", she answered in return, stumbling rather stormily in his embrace.

When she parted from him, he found that she looked haunted.

„What´s wrong ?" he asked, skipping all further welcome.

„Take me for a ride", she only said.

* * *

Barney Ross had seen a lot over the years and thought of himself as hard to surprise. But the mysterious phone call and the insistent tone she had asked him in to take her for a ride had left him puzzled. Though she might look like it, Pepper was everything else than a helpless frail beauty and she had surely no tendency to panic.

He realized belatedly that she had obviously planned their ride, wearing rugged boots to the jeans and a leather jacket over the blouse. After a short exchange of words at the first red light, he headed out of town, trying to remember when he had given a woman a ride the last time.

Now, with her small form softly pressed against his back and her hands at his sides, he found that she was an agreeable pillion rider. He realized somewhat belatedly that of all the things that should possibly have crossed his mind, this was the most unimportant, but most agreeable one.

He found them a lonely patch of beach and parked the bike. She did her best to scramble down from it as graceful as possible.

She took a step forward the moment he put his helmet aside and hugged him surprisingly tightly.

„You´re up for a walk ?" she asked, glancing around.

„Sure", he nodded.

* * *

They wandered slowly down the beach. Pepper had taken her boots of and let the waves wash over her feet occasionally despite the fact that the day wasn´t that warm, carrying the jacket in one and the boots in the other hand.

„See, I knew Victor´s house, sure, but I wouldn´t have noticed small changes there. It was Jesse who wondered about the rather messy workshop, and thinking about it, he was right, it was unusual for him to leave it anything else than neat and tidy."

„He´s surely right with that!" Barney confirmed, remembering Victor´s exaggerated sense of order. „When did you realize that someone had broken into your house ?"

„The same day it happened, I guess, two weeks ago. As I said, they were damn careful. There were only the smallest hints that someone had searched the house, but when I had become suspicious, there were several to be found. The police couldn´t find any fingerprints, nobody had seen anything...the usual."

„And did they take anything with them ?"

„Nothing. Not the money, no jewelry, nothing else as far as I can say. Everything was there."

She stopped walking, turning to him.

„Please don´t think I´ve gone nuts or something, but I think I am followed as well."

„And you think this is related to some of Victor´s business ?"

She frowned.

„I can´t imagine anything else. But you know how it is, we separated years ago. I have no idea what business he´s been in lately. The last think I know is that he tried to get away from too many low priced jobs to fewer but more lucrative ones."

„Leaving the low priced jobs for you", he concluded correctly.

She nodded, the begin of a smile playing around the edges of her mouth.

„Is Jesse still in town ?" Barney asked, thoughtful.

„No, he´s at sea. Duty callin´."

„You think he has any idea what Victor may have had cookin´ ?"

„No. Victor made it clear, at least to me and surely to Phil as well, that he didn´t wanted him involved in any side business...neither his nor mine. He didn´t want to endanger the boys´ future or career in any way."

Barney nodded. It confirmed his assumption.

She brushed a strand of dark hair out of her face.

„I am not paranoid, Barney, but I´ll become if this doesn´t stop! I don´t scare easy, but by now, I stopped sleeping in my own bed and I hardly dare to talk to somebody on the phone!"

She turned away to take a deep breath, trying hard to suppress the by now rising tears.

Barney rubbed the back of his neck for a moment.

„So what do you want me to do ?" he asked.

She tried a smile, and despite the dark circles around her eyes and even on the edge of tears, looking at her, Barney could tell easily how it had happened that a tough guy like Victor „the Beast" O´Riley had fallen for a back then hardly seventeen year old girl.

„Help me", she begged him quietly.


	2. Chapter 2

„I put some money aside over the years", she told him. „I know it´s not what you usually do..."

Watching his expression darken, she didn´t finish the sentence.

He was slowly shaking his head.

„Remember what I told you the day we paid our last respect to Victor ?" he asked bluntly.

She watched him carefully for a second, trying to realize what he was up to.

„You said to call you if anything comes up..."

„Victor saved my ass about a dozen times and I watched your son grow up from day one and you really think I´d take your money ?"

He sounded honestly indignant.

„Jeez, Barney, you could be busy preparing a job or something, and I know this is not what you usually do..."

Listening to her justifying herself, he congratulated himself. Separated or not, the girl had lost her husband and father of her child three months ago and was scared shitless and there he was, chiding her for hurting his pride.

He looked aside for a moment, gesturing to her to stop talking.

„Forget about it", he said quietly. „I am not going to leave you alone with this shit."

The shadow of a smile appeared on her face.

„Thank you", she whispered.

He had not only watched her son growing up, but her as well in a way. For some peculiar reason, she was grateful that he hadn´t put his statement like that.

* * *

„You got some place to stay ?" he asked, changing topic. Even if he had been preparing a job, there was no way he would leave her alone with this, even if things should turn out less serious as they seemed to be right now.

„I spent some nights at a friend´s house while her husband was on a business trip...but now he´s back and I don´t want to bother them any longer..."

She glanced at him, still trying to regain her composure.

„There´s no other man, if that´s what you meant. I thought about staying at the company..."

„At the airport ? You´re nuts ? You don´t dare to sleep at home but would stay _there_ on your own ?"

„Come on! You of all people should know that the place is usually busier at night than during the whole day!"

Victor´s small airline company, which he had signed over to Pepper years ago, was only a stone´s throw from the old hangar Barney and the rest of the gang used as a base.

„Besides", she added, „Phil spends more nights there than at home again...so I would most probably not be alone there."

„He´s still trying to escape his wife ?" Barney asked, a weak grin playing around the edges of his mouth.

Pepper nodded.

„Yeah. Still and again."

Barney shook his head. Phil, Victor´s and Pepper´s long-time business partner, had been married for about twenty years by now and his marriage seemed like a never-ending private cold war.

Focusing again on the problem at hand, he took a decision.

„Ok. Let´s go and get some stuff for you, I want to know you somewhere safe, just in case. I´d like to talk to Tool to see what he knows about Victor´s business or contacts. Maybe I´ll need to talk to some more people...could take some time..."

„So where do you want me to stay ?" she asked.

„Let´s talk to Tool about that as well."

* * *

Pepper parked the car at the driveway, with Barney arriving on the bike right behind her.

Following her up the three stairs to the front door, he noticed her growing unease.

The house lay silent.

„You want a drink or something ?" she asked, getting in.

„I´m good, thanks. Just pack some clothes."

She nodded.

„Alright. I´m back in a minute."

She headed for the stairs.

Barney entered the small homey living room. A pile of books rested on the low table in front of the sofa where a crumpled-up wollen blanket and a forgotten empty wine glass marked her favourite place. He noticed it with a wry smile. Her late husband would most probably have made a fuzz about it.

He stopped in front of the wall that served as a picture gallery. There were old pics, showing Pepper and the baby, pictures of Victor and his son at their first fishing trip, as well as some more recent ones, like the teenage boy on his first bike and finally the young man in uniform.

A sound from upstairs made him listen up attentively. It sounded as if Pepper had dropped something heavy.

He went back to the stairs.

„Pepper ?"

There was no answer.

„Pepper, you´re alright up there ?"

Again, there was no answer. He felt his palms starting to tingle, his guts telling him that something was wrong. He still tried to decide if he was making things up, infected by her probably unbased paranoia, when he heard her muffled cry.

Glass broke. Pepper shouted his name. Shots from a handgun fell.

Fighting instinct kicked in immediately. He was up the stairs within seconds, cursing himself as the only weapon he was carrying with him was a pocket knife. Still, hesitation was not an option.

„Pepper!" he barked, peering down the corridor.

„Over here!" came her voice from the bedroom at the end of the corridor, sounding somewhat dazzed.

He found her in front of the bed, trembling slightly and holding her head.

His gaze fell on the Walther PPK on the ground right next to her and the bullet holes in the wall right next to the broken window.

„You´re alright ?" he asked, getting down to one knee in front of her.

„Yeah. Just banged my head against something while falling..."

„You´ve seen the guy ?"

She nodded.

„Tall, lean, that´s it. He was wearing a mask. He must have been searching the study."

„You shot ?"

She nodded.

„That your weapon ?"

„Victor´s."

„Thought so. Get up. We got to get out of here."

He helped her to her feet.

* * *

„Do you believe me now ?" she asked, getting into the pick-up´s passenger seat. He had decided to leave the bike and return later on to pick it up.

He frowned.

„Who said I didn´t believe you before ?" he inquired.

„Come on!" she challenged. „I´d bet you thought I may be imagining things. Mourning widow getting paranoid...I would most probably think the same..."

He cast her a side glance.

„You´re alright ?"

„Yeah. Just a little shaken."

She sighed.

„This could have ended very differently if you hadn´t been with me."

He cursed himself again for not having brought a weapon.

„Have you been carrying Victor´s Walther around with you ?" he asked.

She shook her head.

„Don´t tell me you slept with it under your pillow", he challenged.

She kept silent.

„You stopped talking to me ?" he asked, slightly amused.

„Alright, I did!" she admitted. „So what ? I was scared!"

„Obviously not without reason", he mused thoughtfully.


	3. Chapter 3

„Yeah, thanks anyway. Bye."

Barney hung up, glancing at Tool who just returned from the backoffice.

„How is she ?" Barney asked.

„Sleeping", Tool told him. „She looked spooked, I can tell. What do you make of this ?"

Barney frowned.

„I´ve no idea. Victor wasn´t the type to leave unfinished business. Alright, he died quite suddenly, so he might have left some nevertheless. Still, he would never have done anything that would have endangered Pepper or the boy."

„Agreed."

„From what people are telling me, he was still in transport business. Still hot merchandise mostly. He´s said to have made a big deal recently - but nobody seems to know any details."

„I´m gonna cast my net wide", Tool offered. „There´s always someone who knows the details! We just need to find this someone..."

„We ?"

„Well, I made it my business to keep my eyes and ears open. ´s the least I can do for Victor´s widow, no ? By the way, where do want her to stay ?"

Barney frowned, taking a drag on his cigar.

„I´ve no idea. Somebody has to keep an eye on her, that´s for sure."

„You´ve already done your spring cleaning, pal ?" Tool inquired.

„What the hell you´re talking about ?"

„You know, I could offer her to stay here for a while", Tool answered, a grin on his face. „But it was_ you _she wanted to take out for your birthday."

„Oh come on! The girl´s scared shitless."

Tool nodded.

„I know, brother, I know."

He sat back and grinned.

„Maybe she´s up to do your spring cleaning for you ?"

* * *

Later that evening, Barney let his own pick-up roll slowly into the garage. He stopped the engine, but made no move to get out.

„What ?" she asked.

„You know, I´m in the middle of renovations up there", he answered.

„You´re not prepared for lady visitors ?" she asked with a smile.

He chuckled dryly at her question.

„Yeah. Something like that."

He finally got out of the car and she followed him, grabbing her backpack.

„Don´t worry! After fifteen years with a stickler for tidiness while trying to raise a child,_ I_ got no problem with some homely mess."

He only gave a low sound of acknowledgment.

Actually, she couldn´t have chosen a worse time for a visit. He had just broken down another wall the week before and the apartment on the upper level of the old factory building still looked like right after a bomb impact.

* * *

„Wow!" she said, looking around.

„I told you", he stated.

She chuckled.

„You didn´t - you only tried to."

He put one hand to his waist, throwing her a challenging look.

She ignored it, letting her gaze wander through the room.

„And that was not what I meant!" she added.

Him living at the upper level of that old factory building had come as a surprise. Pepper only remembered his old place, a somewhat shabby small house somewhere in a suburb on the way out of town. There might have been a lot of work to do left here, but it was obvious where he was going with the light-flooded hall.

„Man, this is a great place!" she stated.

„Like it ?" he asked rather rhetorically.

She nodded.

„Kitchen and bathroom are over there to the right and left", he explained, gesturing towards the door at the other end of the room.

He rubbed the back of his neck for a moment.

„You know, I don´t have a guestroom..."

She waved a hand.

„You got a couch - all I can wish for."

He frowned, wondering how to tell her that he would probably stay up half the night. The disadvantages of a one room apartment became suddenly obvious.

„Take the bedroom", he offered.

„No !" she disagreed.

„Why not ?"

„It´s bad enough that I have to bother you at all. I am surely not occupying your bedroom!"

He didn´t like the idea much as well, but wondered how to explain to her that she would disturb his routines the least that way.

She sensed his unease.

„Let me guess...you´re used to staying up late. We should probably have stayed at my house."

„And wait for the next freak to break into it ? Definitely not my choice", he contradicted. „So take the bedroom, it´s no problem."

This way, he´d know her safe. Anyone getting into the place would have to get past him to get to her and he knew the place and the surroundings, knew the sounds that belonged there from the ones which didn´t. And, he mused, this way, he could be sure that she wouldn´t shoot him by accident on his way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

She raised her hands in a gesture of surrender.

„Goddamnit, I wished I knew what all this is about!"

„Take it easy", he found himself soothing her. „We´ll find out about it."

She sighed.

„Would be helpful if I had any idea where to start looking."

„Let´s worry about that tomorrow. Why don´t you go for a shower and I´ll get the bedroom ready ?"

She seemed to relax a little and gave him a smile.

„So how long do you want that shower to take me ?" she inquired.

„Get off", he ordered with a grin. „No need to get cocky."

A sound made her turn.

A black and white cat entered the room, giving a low meow.

Pepper promptly gave a sound of delight.

The cat headed right towards her and she bent down to pet it.

„Hey, little lady, who are you ?"

„Actually, she is a he."

„Oh."

Pepper caressed the cat´s fur softly and he started to purr.

„Don´t you forget who´s feedin´ you, pal", Barney bantered.

Pepper chuckled.

„Didn´t know you have a flat mate", she commented.

„He moved in without asking."

„Happens sometimes", she commented casually, referring to her just moving in temporarily. „What´s his name ?"

„Sylvester."

„Nice. Hey, sweetheart!"

She got up again.

„I´m off then! Oh, wait."

She grabbed the backpack, shuffling through its contents.

Finally, she took a small package out.

„This is for you", she said, handing it to him.

He took it, turning it in his hands.

„_Unwrap_ it!" she encouraged.

The package turned out as a box of expensive Cuban cigars.

„What the hell ´s that for ?" he asked.

„It´s your birthday present, silly."

She chuckled.

„You _do_ know that it´s not my birthday, right ?"

„Sure. But I wanted things to look believable. Damn, Barney, these three hours between the call and the appointment didn´t seem to elapse. So I thought I could get you a birthday present as well."

„You´re crazy."

She chuckled.

„Unfortunately, I forgot to give it to you when you arrived. Not very professional!"

Getting serious again, she sighed.

„I hate being a burden to you."

„You´re not a burden, ok ? You should have called sooner. We´ll settle this, don´t worry!"

Nodding, she turned with a deep breath.

He watched her leaving for the bathroom. If it had really been his birthday, it would have been the most exciting one for years.


	4. Chapter 4

_author´s note : I am still trying to let things start rollin´ slowly... be patient with me, keep reading and **please review**! _

* * *

Early the next morning, Pepper made an appreciative sound entering the huge living room.

„Mornin´", she mumbled.

„Mornin`, he answered.

„Coffee ?" he asked, grinning at the delighted expression on her face.

„Yes sir! I am a damn addict!"

„Pilot!" he commented casually. „Got some sleep ?"

„For a decent pilot´s breakfast, add a double whiskey! And yes, I did. You got all my gratitude for that alone, believe me."

In fact, she hadn´t slept that well for months, though she had been wondering privately if Barney really liked sleeping on matresses as comfortable as naked rock.

She was in a ragged overlarge Black Sabbath shirt and he couldn´t else but look her up and down while she turned to the counter, looking for some sugar.

„Yes, it is one of Victor´s t-shirts, and no, I am not wearing the clothes of my late husband for nostalgic reasons", she stated. „I acquired this one while we still lived together and I don´t own pyjamas."

At least none she would wear anywhere else than at her own bedroom, and not because they were that saucy.

Barney, used to the different excentric streaks of his teammates, only raised his hands in a gesture of „Whatever!". He could imagine worse sights.

She pulled herself up to the counter and took a sip of her coffee.

„So what do you suggest where to start ? Any luck with your contacts ?"

Barney wondered how efficiently she thought he´d be able to work with her sitting scantily dressed on his counter, legs dangling. The next second, he found himself expressing exactly that thought to her.

„Shit!" she just said, slipping from the counter. „See, that happens when you live alone too long! So ?"

He tried to focus again.

„Well, things are the same as last night - up to now, I´ve found no one who knew - or was willing to tell me - about the details of Victor´s recently made big deal. Tool might have had more luck. Did you check Victor´s records at the airport ?"

She nodded.

„Yeah, together with Jesse, right after Victor´s death. Couldn´t find anything unexpected there. Still..."

„You haven´t been looking for anything special back then", Barney concluded.

She nodded.

„Right. I´ve been there again, last week, but with the same result. I mean, alright, I didn´t expect him to have kept records about the contraband."

Barney raised his eyebrows for a moment, signalizing agreement.

„Has there been any fence he worked regularly with ?"

„As far as I know, only Charlie Seriz, but as I told you - I don´t know much about his recent business. And I talked to Charlie. He said that they haven´t done any business together for months."

„What about Victor´s cell phone ? You got it ?"

She nodded.

„Yeah. I carried it around for a while to inform people calling him, but the news of his passing spread faster than I could ever have bandied them. There were no messages and I know only half the names the contact list contains."

„You still got it with you ?"

She nodded.

„Yeah, why ?"

„Well, Christmas has some friends who should be able to check out the numbers and the calls he had made and received..."

She threw him a surprised look, then smiled.

„Nice."

Barney tilted his head.

„Well, let´s see what they really can do for us in the end."

„You want to have a look at his place ?"

Barney nodded.

„Yeah, and at his company."

„Alright."

He grinned.

„But do me a favour and get fully dressed before."

She gave him an amazing smile.

„I´ll see what I can do for you. I´ll go then to powder my nose, no ?"

She headed for the bedroom to pick up her clothes. When she returned, tomcat Sylvester was right on her heels. He stopped at the kitchen door while she headed for the bathroom.

„The furball´s been with you tonight ?" Barney asked.

Pepper nodded.

„Warmed my feet - very agreeable and a very polite little guy!"

The bathroom´s door closed.

Sylvester sat down the elegant way cats usually did and looked expectantly at Barney.

„Traitor !" Barney mumbled, looking for a can of cat food.

* * *

Barney let his gaze wander through his late friend´s living room. The place actually looked as if Victor had just been out to buy cigarettes and was up to return any second. Despite the fact that O´Riley would never have tolerated any clutter, the place looked inhabited nevertheless. Still, in contrary to his wife´s house, Victor´s bike magazines rested in a neat pile on a side table right next to his obviously favorite armchair.

„You think somebody´s been here again ?" Barney asked.

She shook her head.

„What you´re going to do with the place ?"

She looked around as well.

„Jesse decided to keep it for now."

She watched him for a moment, narrowing her eyes.

„What are you looking for ?" she asked, intrigued.

Barney shrugged.

„Don´t know. Honestly spoken, I am still trying to get a feel for the whole thing."

She nodded acceptance.

„Sounds good for me."

„Mind if I take a look at the rest of the house ?"

She shrugged.

„Go ahead. Vic would surely have preferred you doing it to any greedy freak, no ? Want me to leave you alone ?"

He grinned. It would surely have helped him to concentrate.

„Do me a favour and stay where I can see you. I am not keen on any other surprises."

She grimaced, but nodded.

Pepper watched Barney taking in the place, wondering privately if this was going to lead anywhere. Still, he looked determined enough. He and Victor had stopped working together after Victor had been badly wounded over a decade ago on a job, but they had stayed friends over the years.

She followed him silently through the rooms, picking up an item here or there, only to turn it absent-mindedly in her hands. After a first tour of the house, Barney returned to the living room.

Pepper raised her eyebrows when he went down to his knees to peer under the furniture.

„You´re checking if Victor was really that meticulous ?" she inquired sarcastically.

„You know if there´s a flashlight somewhere around ?"

„I saw one at the kitchen", she answered. „Be right back."

When she returned, she handed him the flashlight and he repeated the procedure, with her standing by, shaking her head slowly.

„There we go", he mumbled. He gave the sofa a shove.

Beneath it, a floorboard had obviously been forced open. Whoever had found the secret compartment before had put the floor board back, but the edges were broken.

Pepper swore.

Barney reached for his knife and reopened the compartment. It contained a handgun and some ammo, but nothing else.

„How the hell did you know about that ?" she asked.

Barney only tilted his head and grinned.

Pepper kept silent when he discovered compartment number two and three at the kitchen and the study. She looked finally stunned at compartment number four at the bedroom, placed that obvious that she would never have had searched there for it even if she had suspected something like that.

When they eventually entered the workshop, Barney repeated the procedure she had witnessed before. He looked around, took the place in for a minute.

This time, he succeeded at first try.

„Come on!" she challenged. „You knew about this one!"

He only grinned.

Still, this compartment held only the same what they had found at the other ones - a handgun, some ammo, a knife.

„I don´t believe it!" she exclaimed.

Barney chuckled.

„You´re some kind of mind reader ?"

„Want me to have another look at your house ?" he teased her.

He laughed at the stunned expression on her face.

„Actually, I do!" she said finally.

„Don´t be too disappointed, girl, I bet he emptied the ones there the day he moved out."

„You don´t even _doubt_ that there are any ?"

He grinned again.

„I´d bet on that as well."

„I still want to know about them", she insisted.

He opened his mouth, but she forestalled him.

„_Don´t_ say you´d have bet on that as well, ok ?"

„Well, anyway. Two out of five have definitely been opened by someone else than Victor", he summed up. „But I don´t think that these two contained more than the others, so this takes us nowhere."

„But let me guess...there´ll be more of these at the company."

Barney nodded.

„Think so."

She snorted.

„What ?"

„I can´t believe it", she said, throwing her hands to the air. „You know, if you´ve been with somebody for a while..."

„How long has that_ while_ been in your case?" he asked.

„Twenty years!" she snapped. „Well, fourteen when we parted! It´s just...this is crazy!"

„Uh, come on! Would be quite boring if you´d really know _everything _about the other."

She put her hands to her hips and tilted her head.

„You think ?" she asked, her tone challenging.

Relocking the compartment, he looked up to her.

Pepper was a beauty, there was no doubt. Dark brown hair framed a face with even features, a small straight nose and full lips, and eyes of a quite unusual green. She didn´t look girlish, but admittedly younger than she really was and he knew that her looks regularly caused especially men to underestimate her abilities as well as her business acumen.

He liked the sight of her right now casual posture in contrast to her challenging facial expression.

„As if you girls never had secrets!"

She sniffed.

„Whatever! So what´s next ?"

„Lunch", he answered dryly. „Can´t read minds while starving."


	5. Chapter 5

After lunch, they drove over to the Victor´s former flight company. But instead of parking the car in front of the main entrance, Barney circled the building and parked at the side. Pepper wondered about the reasons, but didn´t ask.

„You got a key, I suppose ?"

Getting out of the car, she nodded.

„How many entrances are there ?"

„The main entrance, this one..." She pointed to the side door in front of them. „One at the back of the building, but it´s sealed, welded shut as far as I remember...think there´s possibly a door to the roof as well."

„Let´s check ´em."

She gestured agreement and followed him.

Her relief about the untouched locks of the doors downstairs held exactly up to the moment they found that the look of the door to the roof was broken.

„Shit!" she said simply. There had been no other signs of an intrusion around, but this was clearly proof of it.

„You checked it last week when you were here ?"

She nodded.

„Everything was fine then."

Barney committed it as another fact to his memory, then turned.

„Let´s have a look at his book keeping then!"

* * *

Checking through Victor´s records turned out as time-consuming as fruitless as well. To kill two birds with one stone, they carried the boxes containing the records down to the main hangar, where Pepper flicked through them while Barney looked around, snooping through crates and checking for further secret compartments.

He found several of the last, most of them empty, some of them containing weapons of different kinds, but single ones, obviously for Victor´s own use. There was not a single hint to any business he might have been doing.

Finally, they decided to call it a day. Barney suggested to take the records over to his place so that he could throw a look at them as well. Pepper had just packed another round of documents into a box when something at the desk caught her eye.

„What the hell...", she muttered, picking up the somewhat crumpled piece of paper.

„Found something ?"

She studied the scrap of paper for a moment.

„This", she then explained unctuously,"is a _receipt_ from Cooter´s garage at Echo Creek. Dated three months and two weeks ago."

„Doesn´t look like a receipt", Barney commented, looking at what was obviously some former part of a newspaper front page.

„Yeah, that´s because they don´t issue receipts..."

She pointed to the corner of it. „But there´s the date..."

She tipped her finger to the scrawly numbers on the edge.

„...and that´s the sum!"

„Now _you_´re reading out of tea leaves, don´t you think ?"

Rummaging through some other pieces of paper at the desk, she laughed.

„I just know my people..."

She grabbed another piece of paper.

„This here is a receipt of the gas station at Echo Creek...Cooter´s is the place where you can get anything from some engine oil up to helicopter spare parts..."

„´s that that place in Canada...?"

„Where Vic owned that old hangar back then. Right."

She shook her head, wondering.

„The last thing I knew is that he sold the place, years ago, when they closed down the airport there. Must have been a year before we parted."

She handed the second receipt to Barney as well.

„But this looks as if he´s been there the week before he died", she reasoned.

„Right", he nodded.

Pepper sighed.

„That´s a surprise."

„I remember the place as spacious..."

She nodded.

„Yeah, there´s a lot of room...and I could imagine it´s a damn lonely place nowadays."

Pepper looked at Barney.

„The place would be perfect to store contraband", Barney concluded.

„Think we should go there ?" she asked.

„Think we should go there", he agreed.

* * *

„So Piersen will deliver on Monday, presumably", Christmas said.

Barney nodded.

„You´re available to accept the delivery ?"

Christmas raised his eyebrows.

„You´re not ?"

„Pepper and I´ll go to Canada. Seems that Victor still owned an old hangar at a closed airfield there."

Christmas tilted his head.

„Think he stored contraband there ?"

„Yeah, possibly."

„Any idea what to look for by now ?"

Barney shook his head.

„No."

„Want me to come along ?"

„Don´t think that´s necessary."

Christmas raised his eyebrows and nodded slowly, glancing at Pepper who was talking to Tool at the other end of the shop.

Finally, he grinned.

„So you and Pepper up there in lonely Canada, huh ?"

Barney frowned.

„What ?"

Christmas grinned.

„Nothin´..."

„Spill it!"

Christmas raised his hands as if he wanted to signalize surrender.

Barney narrowed his eyes, waiting for Christmas to go on.

„Well, I wouldn´t have thought she´s your type, but..."

„She´s the widow of one of my oldest friends", Barney heard himself tell his brother in arms sharply.

Christmas shrugged.

„So what ? They split up years ago. And the guy´s been a lucky bastard - or you goddamn stupid - if you never tried to comfort her before."

„´s that part of the British concept of friendship ?" Barney inquired, taking another pull on his cigar. „Tryin´ to get off with your friend´s wife ?"

„Are we a bit touchy ?"

Barney decided to ignore the teasing.

„Any news on the phone numbers ?"

„Give them another day. Mike promised results for tomorrow morning."

Christmas shifted his weight.

„So how long do you expect your, uh, vacation to take ?"

Barney crossed his arms in front of his chest. Christmas knew the look he was given. Barney was obviously not in the mood for more teasing. Not that it would keep him from going on with it.

„Don´t know. Depends on what we´ll find there. Two or three days, I guess."

„Well", Christmas said, fastening up his jacket and grabbing his helmet,"I´ll keep in touch."

Barney nodded and took a step back when the Brit started up his bike.

* * *

„You´re ready ?" Barney asked, joining Pepper and Tool.

She nodded.

„Sure."

She bent forward and, putting one hand to his shoulder, kissed Tool on the cheek.

„See you tomorrow. And thanks for your help!"

„You´re welcome, honey."

Barney tried to hide a grin and wondered privately if Pepper had any idea how that alone would probably shake Tool´s peace of mind.

They got into the car.

„Hungry again ?" Pepper asked.

He nodded.

„Yeah. You ?"

She nodded as well.

„Want me to cook something ?" she asked.

The question took him by surprise and she noticed it.

„It´s no trouble. I could do something quick, some pasta ?"

„You want to ?"

She smiled.

„Cooking calms me down somehow."

She laughed quietly.

„You _do_ own a cooking pot, do you ?"

He raised his eyebrows.

„For a wanted homeless, you´re damn cheeky!"

She feigned a guilty expression.

„Sorry. So ?"

„Actually, I do", he finally answered.

„Great. There´s a grocery store on the way, no ? Stop there and I´ll just hop in and ..."

Her voice trailed off.

They exchanged a glance.

„O fuck, I already hate it!" she stated. „Can´t imagine how these V.I.P.´s manage not to go _anywhere_ alone."

„Those V.I.P.´s usually don´t do their grocery shopping theirselves."

„_Not _comforting", she decided.

„Will you need some further stuff from your place before we head to Canada ?"

„Nope. Got everything I´ll need at the company. I do the trip regularly, though not exactly to this destination."

She smiled when she noticed his facial expression.

„But as I can´t set foot anywhere alone anyway for the time being, you will be with me anyway for the preparations tomorrow and you can check for yourself", she said, crossing her arms in front of her.

„I don´t doubt your thoroughness", he answered. „And you´re bad at playing the sorehead."

„You´d better not", she answered coolly, then smiled. „But I´d have been disappointed if you had left without checking for yourself."

Her words caused a crooked grin. He had wondered how to tell her that he wanted to satisfy himself of certain things. It seemed that his worries had been in vain, as he had forgotten that he and Victor had shared a lot of habits she seemed still fairly used to.

* * *

Barney followed her up the stairs to the living area, trying to call himself to order.

_Stop staring at her ass and rather make good for the training you already skipped yesterday, jerk!_

It only made him picturing her again sitting on his counter in the morning.

Pepper had held the promise she had made when they had rolled into the grocery store´s parking lot and had headed quickly through the store. Still, it had somehow felt weird to follow her through the rows of shelves, watching her picking this or that. He had done his best to stay focused on the people around. Still, it hadn´t escaped his notice when her shirt had rode up a little when she had stretched out for the bottle of red wine on the highest board of the shelf, exposing part of a floral tattoo winding up along the side of her body.

Nothing that should have peaked a bodyguard´s interest, that much was for sure, and nothing more than that had been his job there.

He cursed Christmas heartily for his superfluous babble, then himself for skipping training the second successive day. Getting sloppy wasn´t an option and would be of no use to anyone. Still, he caught himself wondering if she would think of it only as an excuse to get rid of her for a while if he would try to explain it.

He sighed silently, realizing that the only result of his efforts was that his thoughts were already back on their way to the question if that tattoo of hers was probably Tool´s work in the end - and that he really wanted to throw a look at the whole thing.

* * *

He watched her feeding a handful of minced meat to Sylvester the cat.

„Who´s gonna feed him while we´re gone ?" she asked.

„Anita. She runs the laundry shop at the end of the road."

Barney suspected the always good-humoured Mexican to be at least partly responsible for the whole cat thing anyway.

"Don´t think that bastard will miss us", he added.

„Maybe not _you_", Pepper teased him.

„Are you going to feed all the stuff to him or will there be something left for us as well ?"

„No need to be jealous!"

She straigthened up and bit her lip for a second.

„How hungry are you ?" she asked.

He tilted his head.

„Why ?"

„This may sound weird, but could I use your bathtub ?"

She looked actually embarassed by now.

„Haven´t had the leisure for a bath for a while...", she mumbled. It was simply no fun if one had to have a gun right at hand just in case.

He waved a hand.

„Sure, go ahead! I may just lack candles and champaign."

„Don´t worry", she answered. „The rest of the red wine will do. And when worse comes to worse, I´d bet that the Ross relax formula will do for me as well, believe me!"

He raised his eyebrows.

„A cigar and a cold beer ?" she explained.

He chuckled.

„Honestly spoken, I´ve never used the tub before", he confessed.

„A shame", she commented, taking a sip of water out of a nearby bottle. „Why the hell did you install it ?"

She stared down at the bottle in her hand.

„This has been yours", she stated then.

He nodded, his grin broadening.

„Too much time alone!" she repeated her statement from the morning, grabbing another one for him out of the fridge.

He accepted it. Not that he would have died on drinking out of one bottle with her.

„So it´s okay for you if I do the cooking later on ?" she asked.

He nodded. It would grant him the opportunity to do at least some workout in the end.

„You know, I´ll be downstairs then for a while. You´re safe up here. Alright ?"

She nodded.

„Sure. Didn´t mean to keep you from your workout anyway." Bending down to feed another bit of the meat to Sylvester, she missed the stunned expression on his face about her obviously reading his thoughts again.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author´s note : Big thanx to Kathie2808 for support at all times ;-) _

_Please people, give me your opinion - I think I can handle it ;-)_

* * *

Barney didn´t hurry at the sound of a bike rolling into the garage. The Ducati´s roaring was that distinct that there could be no doubt who the visitor was.

„Hey", he greeted Christmas, wiping his face and the back of his neck again with a towel.

„Hey", the Brit answered. „Where´s Pepper ?"

„Obviously upstairs", Barney answered.

„Obviously", Lee repeated, getting of the bike. „So she wouldn´t join your _workout_ ?"

„Come on!" Barney groaned.

„Are you sure she´s comfortable up there ? I mean, what is she doing in the middle of your private construction site ?"

„Cooking, hopefully."

„You got her already cooking ? You don´t take prisoners, huh ?"

Christmas reached into his jacket and took an envelope out before Barney could answer.

„Anyway, I got something for you", he informed him.

„The names to the phone numbers ?"

Lee nodded.

„Good job! Had a look at it ?"

Christmas nodded.

„Yup, but nothing leaped to the eye."

„Well, maybe Pepper can make more of it. Got time for a beer ?"

„Always!"

* * *

Pepper, still in the tub, straightened up at the sound of the door.

„Barney ?"

„Yeah ?"

There was a sound of water splashing at the bathroom. Christmas grinned.

„Do you have a bath towel for me ?"

Christmas laughed out and clapped Barney on the back.

„Cooking, huh ?"

„Oh shut up!" Barney growled.

Pepper over at the bathroom froze.

„Is that Christmas ?"

„Yeah", Barney and Lee answered simultaneously.

Pepper wished suddenly just to hold her breath and submerge. Embarassing enough that she hadn´t thought of asking Barney for the towel before getting into the tub.

„I´m with you guys in a minute", she promised.

Then she remembered the problem.

„Won´t you help the lady out ?" Christmas inquired lowly, adressing Barney.

„You´re a bastard, you know that ?"

Lee grinned.

„I can´t believe it! You leave that woman alone in your bathtub for _pumpin´ iron_ ?"

Barney rolled his eyes and went over to the bedroom for a towel.

„´s he staying for dinner ?" Pepper asked a minute later, grabbing the towel Barney handed her through the ajar door. „Thanks by the way..."

„Yes!" Christmas affirmed while Barney snapped a „No!" at the same time.

Pepper, busy toweling herself, rolled her eyes.

* * *

„So another dead end."

She put the sheets she had been flipping through down to the table.

„Not necessarily", Lee disagreed. „There may be a lot of names left you didn´t recognize but we should probably leave that to Tool. If anyone of them could have been doing any remarkable business with Victor or knows anything, he´ll find out about it."

Pepper ran a hand through her hair.

„Hope you are right", she answered with a sigh. „Maybe..."

She was interrupted by her cell phone ringing.

„Phil", she told them with a look at the display. „Just a second."

* * *

„That was my business partner, quizzing me about my trip to Canada", she informed Lee and Barney when she returned to them after the call. „Jeez! As if this is going to be a goddamn romantic vacation!"

„It isn´t ?" Lee asked bluntly, ignoring Barney´s dark stare.

„Well, its my impression that he wanted to talk me out of leavin´...", Pepper mused, ignoring Christmas´ comment.

„Why ?" Barney asked.

„That´s a damn good question I´d really like to know the answer to as well!"

„Did you tell Phil about what happened ?" Barney asked.

She frowned.

„He knows about the housebreaking at my place and at Victor´s, but that´s all I told him."

„And you think he wanted to talk you only out of taking one of your planes or out of leaving at all ?"

She shrugged.

„I have no idea. He claims that he needs the Mimmy - the bigger one of the planes - as one of our regulars just tripled freight volume. And that the Icarus is not safe for such a distance, but that´s just nonsense - I mean, a plane is airworthy or it is not! This was weird."

„Well, Phil has never been what I´d think of exactly as the _ordinary guy_", Barney commented dryly.

„True", Pepper agreed, smiling. „Think that´s partly why he makes such a good pilot! Still..."

„What about your cell ?" Lee asked. „Battery´s really low ?"

He had obviously overheard her giving this excuse to Phil just before she had broken the connection.

She grimaced.

„You´re kidding ?! I have to run a business, man!"

Lee laughed.

„And still it´s weird!" she mused.

„You didn´t tell him that you called me ?" Barney asked.

She shook her head.

„No."

„Why not ?"

She sighed.

„It´s not that I don´t trust him, if that´s what you mean. Thought it best not to involve any more people. I mean, come on, we´ve been partners for decades and he´s got enough trouble of his own! No need to endanger him as well, no ?"

Barney nodded slowly.

„Actually, he´s damn nosy ´cause he suspects me of havin´ a secret lover. He seems to think that I have had one for quite a while and that I was just afraid that Victor would kick the guy´s ass if he´d ever found out."

„So there is one or not ?" Lee asked.

„Would you stop ?!" Barney snapped this time.

Pepper laughed, obviously not offended.

„Aren´t you British people the ones claiming to have invented the gentleman concept ? And no, there isn´t one and no, it´s not because of Victor! I admit, it _would_ have been, uh, an interesting experiment to try and tell him..."

„Why ?" Lee asked. „He was the jealous type ?"

Pepper made a face while Barney laughed out finally.

„You know, there´s reason why they called him ´the Beast`", he bantered.

„His shouting would probably have made all windows burst...by the shock wave", she mused.

„And he _would _have kicked that guy´s ass", Barney stated.

„Anyway", Pepper said, getting up and picking up their plates. „We´ll get to Canada - this way or another !"

* * *

„What a fuckin´ mess!"

Pepper gave the piece of metal in front of her feet a healthy kick, letting off steam.

„You saw the guy ?" Barney asked Phil.

They had arrived at the hangar early the next morning to get everything prepared, only to find Phil half out of his mind and waving a shotgun at them the moment they set foot into the place. He had obviously caught another intruder in the act.

Phil nodded, then shook his head. Barney made an impatient gesture.

„Well, yes, a big guy! But he was wearing dark clothes and a mask."

„Anything missing ?"

„Well, I haven´t checked so far..."

„This freak wrecked my plane!" Pepper barked, pointing at the plane behind her, which carried the lettering „Icarus" on its sides. „That not enough ?!"

She threw another look at the guts of the plane.

„This will take me at least a week!"

„Well, we still got the Mimmy", Phil told her lamely.

„Which you´ll need for Jackson´s order", she raged.

„Come on, cool down...", Barney tried.

„_Cool down_ ?!" she barked, turning to him.

Barney´s gaze wandered to Phil who grimaced behind her back.

There was obviously a reason for her nickname.

„What´s next ? Will I have to sleep at the cockpit with a shotgun ? Will these freaks..."

„Come on!" Barney interrupted. „I´ll take you for breakfast."

She stared for a second at him.

„Do I look _hungry_ ?!"

Barney mused that he had been lucky to never witness one of Victor´s and Pepper´s quarrels. For a small person like her, she had a quite impressive voice volume.

„Come on, let´s go!" he insisted nevertheless. „We can´t leave anyway right now, so we can as well have a decent breakfast, no ?!"

Though she was frantic, something in his tone made her hold his gaze. They had just agreed not even an hour before that a breakfast that consisted of more than a cup of hot pitch black coffee and maybe a cigarette, or in Barney´s case, a cigar, was a highly overestimated luxury and to be reserved for Sundays, at best.

„I can´t concentrate while starving, remember ?" he said.

„Maybe you´re right", she answered after a moment, joining his game, though looking unsure of what to make of it. But she was still too angry to sound or look really convincing. Still, Barney wanted at least Phil to believe her.

Remembering what Pepper had told him and Lee the night before, he decided to raise the stakes.

„Come on, girl! The night has been long enough, don´t you think ?" he told her, winking. "We could do with some breakfast!"

Pepper opened her mouth, then closed it again without having said a word, knowing Phil still right behind her.

„I take that as a yes", Barney stated.

Pepper took a deep breath and nodded. She turned.

„You´ll manage here alone ?" she adressed Phil.

Phil waved a hand, shouldering the shotgun he had equipped himself with.

„Yeah. No problem."

„Fine. I´ll be back later on then!"


	7. Chapter 7

_Credits to Kathie2808 for help at and with all times ;-)_

_Please review!_

* * *

Pepper took another sip of her coffee, then sighed and sat back with relish.

Barney showed a half-grin at the sight.

„So much for the luxuries of breakfast", she said with a smile.

He had just watched her munching down the biggest pile of pancakes he had seen in a while. Now he tilted his head in agreement.

He had chosen a table at a corner, close to the back exit. Upset as she had been when they had entered the diner, she had most probably not even realized that he had chosen the place on purpose. Now he was keeping an eye on the people getting in and out as well as on the parking lot in front of the building. Still wondering on one hand if he was probably overdoing, he realized that on the other, he simply felt better this way. No good in letting himself be caught off guard.

„What do you think ?" she asked finally.

„Did you tell somebody that you´re going to Canada ?"

She frowned.

„I told Phil. Well, and Charlene, the friend I´ve stayed with for a couple of days. Remember, she called yesterday...could be that Bobby, who helps us out sometimes with mechanics stuff, might have overheard me and Phil talking. Phil mentioned on the phone that he was around...though his English is bad and I can´t think of a reason why he of all people should have to do something with it..."

She grimaced.

„You think that was a mistake ?"

He sat back.

„Probably."

„See, I am going to Canada regularly. That fact alone is nothing unusual. And I am damn sure that I didn´t tell anyone that we´re going to Echo Creek!"

„I see. But surely, you usually don´t go alone. So wouldn´t Phil have smelled a rat ?"

„Not necessarily. I often take a friend as a copilote with me. And as it happens, she´s visiting her parents in South Dakota the whole month, so they wouldn´t have met accidentally - and callin´ her there at the end of the world is just impossible!"

She smiled.

„But as _you_ _insisted_ on telling him that _we_ are going to Canada, we don´t have to worry about that", she continued. „Besides, have you any idea of the mischief you made only by _implying_ that we spent the night together ?"

He shrugged. She had been right, Phil had looked like his jaw would drop every second.

„Well, see, if he´s drawing wrong conclusions, it´s not my problem! And it kept him from asking further questions..."

„In front of you, yeah! You have no idea how many goddamn questions he will ask me the next time he gets to talk to me alone!"

„...and you from telling him things he doesn´t need to know", he finished his sentence.

„Well, alright. I admit that. So what do you think ?"

„I think that this was no coincidence."

She thought things over for a moment, then rubbed her face with the back of her hand and sighed. All of a sudden, sorrow was back on her features.

„I refuse to believe that Phil is involved in this!"

„I didn´t say that."

„But you think so ?"

„It´s a possibility. And we have to consider it as well as any other, at least as long as we don´t know more."

He had to admit that the still complete lack of information started to annoy him by now.

„And still...no!" she said, shaking her head.

„I only say it´s possible. I didn´t say it´s likely."

„It´s as likely as if _you_ were involved in this!" she argued.

Now he broke into a full grin, a sight she found she liked.

„So why did you call me instead of Phil ?" he asked, reaching out for his own mug.

She froze and stared at him. Then she relaxed and threw her crumpled-up napkin at him, a smile starting to rise on her face.

„You´re a bastard."

He tilted his head, grinning.

„Think about it."

„Still, I refuse to suspect him of all people."

Barney nodded.

„Noticed."

He ran a hand through his hair and let his forearms rest on the table afterwards.

„Another question : how the hell we´re getting to Canada now ? Our plane is still in pieces. Would take as long as to get yours back on track."

She had been busy sliding the tip of her index finger over the empty plate in front of her to catch the last drops of sirup and licked her finger now. He realized belatedly that he had watched her attentively instead of the people around them.

A cheeky smile appeared now on her face.

„Oh, I have a solution for that problem!"

* * *

Later in the afternoon, they stopped in front of another old and abandoned looking hangar at a small airport at the other end of town. It seemed that mostly private persons and small side businesses had their quarters here from what he had seen during the drive. She had directed him there and had refused to tell him where they were going or why, only ordering him to bring anything he would need for the trip. For reasons he could still not quite grasp, he had let her get away with it.

In front of the old gates, she smiled.

„Already curious ?" she asked.

„Don´t you think you´ve kept me in suspence long enough ?"

She laughed.

„Kill-joy!"

She removed the lock and the chain keeping the gates closed.

„Just gimme a hand with this, if you don´t mind."

* * *

With the sunlight enlightening the hangar´s interior, she gave a small sound of care and delight.

„You´re kidding", was everything he said.

She crossed the hall and let her fingertips wander over the plane´s surface on her way to the hatch.

„I didn´t know you own a DC 3."

She smiled mysteriously.

„Where would be the fun if you´d know everything about the other ?" she teased him.

„She´s airworthy ?"

Pepper laughed.

„Oh yes, she is !"

„And ready ?"

„As ready as she´ll ever be!"

„What does that mean ?" he asked, pointing at the lettering. „Amenntee ?"

She chuckled.

„It´s ´amante`", she answered, pronouncing the french word the correct way effortlessly. „Means ´beloved`."

She laughed at the unconvinced expression on his face.

„Alright, alright, she may not be the most elegant looking lady in the sky! But she was my dad´s before and I think he named her aptly.

She opened her eyes wide and went on in a taleteller´s tone.

„Legend says that he proposed to my mum on their first flight together with this lady."

„So what´s her cruise speed ?"

„About twohundred miles per hour. We can be there in about ten hours."

„Plus layover", he added, eyeing up the plane which looked in very good condition indeed.

Pepper, her back turned to him, chuckled.

„Uh, there´ll be no need for that!"

„And how´s that ?" he asked, following her to take a closer look.

„Additional fuel tanks, Mister."

„Are you possibly running a little side business you didn´t tell Phil about ?" he asked.

„Me ?" she asked innocently back. „I love my hobby, that´s all. And too much honesty is for sissies, you know."

He shook his head, grinning.

„Forget I asked."

„I only suggest that we choose a time of departure which allows us to arrive at daylight up there. I am not keen on landing there blindly, not knowing what we´ll find on the runway right up to the moment we´re crashing into it", she stated.

He nodded agreement.

„So, what do you say ?" she asked. „Transport problem solved ?"

„Think so", he agreed with a smile.

„Alright!"

She opened the hatch and gestured to him to go first.

„Then you should start your check up, no ?"

* * *

They worked in silence for a while. He knew that there was no reason to doubt her work. She knew her business and her plane and worked concentrated and precisely. Still, she was right - he wouldn´t leave without having checked things himself. Her not taking offence at it made things a lot easier.

Barney took his time to acquaint himself with the DC 3. It had been a while since he had shared a cockpit with someone else than Christmas or Yang. And he didn´t doubt her skills as a pilot, knowing that he could rely on Victor´s verdict regarding that matter. According to that, she was a natural handling anything able to get airborne.

His thoughts drifted and he suddenly remembered some almost forgotten fact.

„This is not the job you originally chose, is it ?" he asked.

Running her fingertips thoughtfully over another display, taking in the values it showed, she smiled.

„Are you talking about the flying or the smuggling ?"

„What was it you had been originally been trained for ?"

She threw him an amused glance.

„To be a children´s nurse", she answered. „Sounds weird, doesn´t it ?"

She averted her eyes from the displays in front of her for a moment to gaze out into the afternoon sunshine.

„Feels a bit like looking back on somebody else´s life sometimes", she mused, amusement ringing through her voice.

She sat back and let her head rest against the worn seat cover.

„Jesus, I had never had a knack for guys in uniforms before I met Victor, but you guys really looked awesome in them!"

„Well, Victor had rather a knack for getting his ruined", Barney commented good-humouredly.

Pepper chortled.

„True. I´ll never forget how he roughed up these guys who where harassing me at that bar I was working...three against one and they still had no chance..."

„You worked there every Tuesday, if I remember it right...", Barney joined in.

She threw him a suprised look.

„You remember that ?"

He laughed out.

„How could I forget ?! Believe me, there was no way to convince him to go anywhere else on free Tuesday evenings!"

She smiled one of those stunning smiles of hers.

„So I have been a burden to you back then as well, huh ?"

„Come on! But he was crazy about you - so much is clear. You know, I never felt that Victor was that unhappy."

Barney wondered privately if he was going to far.

She frowned.

„You know, I think he wasn´t. But I had to get along alone most of the time and when he came home and would try to patronize me, well, that was a recipe for disaster. Didn´t happen during the first years of our marriage, of course..."

„So what happened ?"

She laughed.

„I think I grew up. Started to talk back. And at some point, we just didn´t get along at all anymore. I´ll never forget the day Jesse announced that he was going to join the Army at the earliest date possible and that he was really hoping that we would _probably _finally manage to separate and ´end the war`!"

„How old was he back then ?"

She smiled.

„He had just turned fourteen. So it was the year we finally did split up in the end."

Barney frowned.

„That was hard."

„Believe me, it´s one thing if a friend gives you such advice! But comin´ from your own child - it´s like a punch in the gut."

„How has he taken it ?"

She sighed.

„He got along. He was used to Victor being absent for long periods of times sometimes. And actually, some distance made us get along with much less fighting."

„But you never got divorced in the end." He turned to her. „Mind if I ask why ?"

Her smile changed and became mischievous.

„Well, Victor simply refused to do it - even though he had moved out and everybody knew that we had broken away from each other."

Barney frowned.

„When I asked him for the reasons, he told me that he had moved to his own house - and that he had gone much further by that than he had ever planned to do with the ´breakup thing`."

Barney sat back.

„Those were his last words on the matter ?"

She chuckled.

„Yeah, and I never asked him again about it, admittedly."

„Didn´t dare ?"

She laughed out this time.

„Well, I knew the look he´d given me too good to have another try. Breaking up with his wife was somehow interfering with his code of honour - so he just tried to ignore it as far as he could."

„Sounds like Victor indeed."

„Yeah, doesn´t it ? I never really got the hang of this honour thing he had going on, but looking back, I am grateful. A lot of guys would just have left me on my own, and even though my mum was sceptical regarding the age difference, if he had been the same age as me, he _would _most probably have fled his responsibilities. Couldn´t even have blamed him."

„You wanted to run ?"

She laughed quietly.

„Not from Victor. But from the whole childbearing thing, yes."

„Never thought of you as the type to run", Barney mused in the same quiet tone.

She looked at him, finally done with her routines.

„Well, that´s the point of all this, isn´t it ?"

* * *

They agreed to spend the night at the hangar, to avoid that anyone who might have followed them would get a chance to sabotage this plane as well. Barney doubted that, thinking of his own paranoia as strong enough to have noticed any possible follower by now.

Showing him the available secret compartments at the plane to put the guns he had brought in, she felt obviously uncomfortable.

„Don´t worry. I don´t think we will need them."

He realized that it had obviously not been what she had been worrying about.

„What ?" he asked, looking up to her while storing some shoulder arms.

„You know, I have no weapon with me. And as you took all the guns we found at Victor´s house with you..."

„So ?"

„So I had no chance to get me another one as you had already taken the Walther from me."

He rubbed the back of his neck for a moment, then decided against politeness and excuses for the risk and the truth.

„You know, I have a bad feeling about you carrying a gun around."

She looked staggered as well as slightly indignant for a moment. Then she lauged.

„What ?" he challenged. „I am not gonna..."

„I´ve been transporting contraband for _fifteen_ years - do you really think I left unarmed only once ? I know the dangerous end of a gun from the other!"

Putting his hands to his waist, he threw her another doubtful look.

„Let me guess", she said. „You won´t believe that I am capable to tell the dangerous end of a gun from the other until you´ve seen it, just as you guys think that it´s the same with driving, flying and everything else you´ve made your personal expertise!"

Barney cursed himself for not having seen the next storm rising on the horizon.

He suppressed a sigh.

„Does ´you guys` mean _he_ didn´t trust you with it either ?" he asked.

„_He_ was the one who insisted on a very detailed instruction."

Barney wondered if Victor had generally thought of that as a good idea with him absent most of the time or if he might have realized quickly that he would get nowhere with telling this woman no.

He grunted lowly, obviously still not convinced.

„Don´t get me started!" she advised him.

She put out her hand, her stare an unmistakable demand.

He threw her a dark look in return. When she didn´t back off, he finally handed her the Walther out of one of the boxes he had brought.

„Thanks", she said softly. „What about the ammo ?"


	8. Chapter 8

After a rather uncomfortable night at the hangar, they departed at first daylight. She laughed at the sight of his oldschool pilot glasses.

„What ?" he challenged.

„Nothing!" she said, grinning, and put an almost identically looking pair on. „It´s just that Jesse would say we look like we just escaped from Top Gun. Ready?"

He nodded.

„Then lets go!"

With the relaxed routine of someone doing this daily, she flipped switches and turned knobs. The engines woke with roaring to life.

Barney realized that being not very familiar with the plane and with someone else than Christmas or Yang piloting, he felt rather uncomfortable.

When they had reached the runway assigned to them, she threw him an amused sideglance.

„All your prayers said ?" she inquired.

„Just get this bird in the air!" he ordered her, sitting back to cross his arms in front of him, surprised that she had caught him again.

„There we go", she only said.

* * *

To his own surprise, Barney lost his initial unease rather quickly. Monitoring her doings thoroughly, he couldn´t find that he would have done anything differently.

From the topics she chose to talk about, it became equally quickly obvious that Pepper wanted to talk about something else than the reasons for their trip or her late husband for a while. They took turns in piloting and he found that, even as he wasn´t used to do much light conversation, they found a lot to talk about even when they both had exchanged what felt like every important and unimportant fact and curiosity about their own respective planes. Time passed quickly. Still, when they finally reached a quiet point, the silence didn´t feel uncomfortable either.

With Pepper leant back as comfortably as possible in her seat to close her eyes for a short while, Barney found that he didn´t feel cornered though they had spent the last couple of days toghether twenty-four seven. He was used to do so during jobs, but sharing cramped quarters with the guys was something completely different from sharing his own four walls with the wife of his best friend.

During all the years of unshakable friendship, Barney had never spent much time with Victor´s family. Since he had never had a family himself and had even lacked a girlfriend most of the time, there hadn´t been any shared Sunday afternoons or weekend trips or stuff befriended families would do. So the times he had met Pepper had been for a shared lunch or dinner with all of them here ore there or for special occasions with a lot of other people around as well. And when the boy had been old enough to accompany his father to an occasional fishing trip with Barney, Pepper had ususally chosen not to disturb the menfolk. Later on, with Pepper getting into the transport and smuggling business, he had met her occasionally at the airport, at their favourite bar or, though rarely, for business when Victor had not been able to do the job himself. Still, they had always got along well with each other and it had been not only for the friendship to Victor when Barney had offered her any help she would need after Victor´s death. Though he had to admit that he had never expected her to ask for it in the particular way she had just done,

His thoughts returned to the conversation they had had the day before about the reasons for their break-up. From what Victor had told him, Pepper had never complained about things women around them usually complained about - the dangerous job, the long periods of absence, the uncertainty of their return. That alone was remarkable. He clearly remembered the day when the friend had finally told him about their break-up. Victor had been as heartstricken as surprised, and at that point simply unable to accept that things were really over. Even Barney, who had known Victor like only few people ever had, had never seen him in such a devastated state before. Victor had finally simply disappeared for a while to come to terms with the new situation.

From Pepper´s perspective, things seemed to have failed simply because of their two permanently colliding personalities. Still, for some reason he couldn´t name or maybe simply because of their friendship, Barney felt that the split-up had been three times worse for Victor than for her, and yet again, he knew that he was in no position to really judge that and that it was an unfair thing to do. But Victor had always had trouble to blend in or to follow the most simple forms of social conventions whereas people would give and forgive Pepper just everything just for that smile of hers.

He watched her profile for a moment, the mesmerizing green eyes closed for now behind her sunglasses, the small nose and those lips whose smile had been enough to bewitch dozens of men without her even meaning to do so. If it had come as a surprise to people that O´Riley was actually married, they had usually reacted with sheer disbelief if they ever got the opportunity to meet his wife. The fact that a girl with her looks alone had chosen a guy like him seemed simply unbelievable.

In some way, she had acted as a mediator between her husband and the rest of the normal every-day world. As relentless and hard-bitten the brother in arms had been, this girl and her child had been O`Riley´s unexpected soft spot and he had never stopped to keep a jealous watch over them.

Still, Barney had also to admit that, through all the years, he had misjudged her in a way himself, even if not in the same way most other people did. Or, he mused, reminded of Christmas´ comment about comforting her, he had simply looked at her as his best friend´s wife only - which had been the only appropriate way.

Letting the last few days pass again on his mind, he had to admit to himself that he had found her company the most agreeable female one he had had in quite a while. Nevertheless, the pessimist in him feared that he felt that way only because Pepper was much too busy with her own problems right now to think about getting involved with him and therefore making him feeling obligated towards her. Usually, that was the point when he choose to put an end to things which had not even really got started.

* * *

When they finally arrived, she circled over the old airfield, making a general attempt to get through to anybody down there by radio. When nobody answered, she tried again, this time to his surprise in French.

„Don´t wonder", she explained with a smile. „You may find people out here who will understand you perfectly fine, but won´t speak English to you out of principle."

„Looks damn lonely down there", she added then with a look down to their destination.

„What do you think ? Shall we take the plunge ?"

„Sounds rather lonely as well. Do another round", he suggested. „But it looks safe, I think."

She simply nodded agreement.

The landing went smoothly and he had to admit that he couldn´t have done it any better.

„Good job", he told her.

„Thanks!"

She smiled and padded the dashboard in front of her affectively.

„I knew the lady wouldn´t disappoint us!"

The airfield looked abandoned indeed though it was impossible to say if there were any airworthy planes or helicopters hidden at the couple of hangars around.

Still, from what they could see, the place looked deserted.

She maneuvred the plane over to the front of the hangar in question and shut the engines down.

The moment she struggled to get out of her seat, he was already up.

„I´ll go first."

She watched him for a moment, then nodded.

* * *

„Man!" she said, climbing through the hatch behind him. „This looks even worse than I remember it!"

„Let´s have a closer look", he said.

They stopped in front of a small entrance door right next to much bigger hangar doors and she fumbled a large set of keys out of her pocket.

„Okay. I am afraid we have a large choice..."

„Won´t be necessary", he commented drily, the entrance door giving way when he pushed against it. The lock was broken.

„Damn it!" she hissed.

Barney entered the place carefully, though it seemed rather unlikely to meet somebody out here. When his eyes had adjusted to the twilight inside and he had had a first look, he stepped aside to grant her access.

She fumbled around in the darkness for a second, then found the button right next to the gate. She pushed it and the large hangar doors started to open noisily.

„There´s electricity out here ?" Barney inquired.

„Car battery", she answered briefly. „And there´s always been an old generator at the backside for electricity and hot water."

„Hot water ?"

She chuckled.

„Well, Vic became somewhat spoilt by the luxuries of civilization over the years. I just hope that thing still works", she said, turning. „´cause I..."

The chaos in front of her, by now visible in the incident daylight, left her speechless.

„Holy crap!" she said finally.

Barney skipped any comment.

The hangar was anything else than empty, but Barney mused that Victor had left it in a much more organized state when he had been here for the last time. Crates of various forms and sizes were stapled at different places, probably sorted by contents. Some of every pile lay broken up and overthrown. Cans and bins had been turned over, their contents spilled in puddles. Drawers and doors of every cupboard around had been yanked open and emptied, their contents as well as the ones of any shelves around, mostly tools and other stuff needed to maintain any kind of vehicles, lay scattered where they had hit the ground.

Pepper swore fiercely.

She stepped in the middle of the mess, looking around.

„What the hell is all that stuff ?" she asked, pointing at the crates.

Barney followed her, scanning the place, and stopped right next to the old jeep parked right in front of the gate. Its doors stood open and he glanced inside.

„You know, I get the impression that whoever has searched this place doesn´t know exactly what to look for either!" she said.

He frowned, sliding his fingertips over the slashed seat covers, then shook his head when he realized that she was looking at him.

He took his time to examine the place thoroughly and she realized that it was not about secret compartments this time.

„They knew", he finally contradicted. „And from what I see, they are looking for something you wouldn´t need a whole hangar for to hide it."

She went over to him and threw a look at the car´s insides.

Then she turned where she stood and took the whole chaos in again.

„Well, they surely took their time looking for it, didn´t they ? But why the hell would they be that careful in New Orleans and mess this place up like that ?"

„`Cause they didn´t expect you to come here. You can search much faster if you don´t care about leaving marks."

She grimaced at his response.

„And I guess they looked here at about the same time they broke into Victor´s house", he mused.

„How the hell would you know that ?" she asked sceptically, putting her hands to her hips.

„See those bins over there", he said, pointing towards the mess in front of a large shelf. „That´s oil or something like that. Hasn´t dried up completely, but has surely not been spilled yesterday."

She raised her eyebrows, admitting to herself privately that this observation should not have been that hard to make for her as well.

„So how the hell are we supposed to find what they couldn´t in this mess - _not_ knowing what we are looking for ?!"

„All in good time", he answered patiently. „What´s upstairs ?"

* * *

_Like it ? Hate it ? Just let me know! ;-)_


	9. Chapter 9

„Oh, great!" she exclaimed. „You know, this place has never been exactly cosy - but things looked _a bit _better when I was here the last time."

The small shabby living area upstairs had obviously been searched as well. Things didn´t look much better at the small bedroom. The cupboard had been emptied, the mattress had been cut open.

„These people really start to annoy me", she mumbled, picking up the last whole coffee mug out of the sink, careful not to hurt herself at the fragments of some other former tableware. „Seems we´ll have to share a mug."

„Are there any more rooms ?"

She shook her head.

„Alright."

He put his backpack down to the old sofa at the corner right next to the bedroom door.

„Arrangements stay the same", he decided. „Bedroom´s yours."

She looked around.

„Are you sure ? There´s certainly enough room on that couch for _me_ but..."

She interrupted herself at the sight of his reproachful look.

„Ok, I got it. I´ll have a look at that generator and hopefully..."

She checked the gas canister under the old-fashioned sink.

„..there´s some gas left to get us something to eat. You´ll have to go with an MRE tonight instead of my excellent cooking."

He raised his eyebrows and she laughed.

„Be careful with what you say next!" she warned him.

„Well, let´s get started as long as there is some daylight", he suggested.

* * *

They managed finally to get the old generator going. Pepper helped him to bar the entrance door as well as the backdoor, though Barney thought it unlikely that they would get company. Still, he was not up to invite people in by letting the door open for the night.

Afterwards, she made some coffee and warmed some MRE´s while he prepared some of the guns he had brought. At some point, he realized that she observed him.

Her unease was obvious.

„You look uncomfortable", he said, stating the obvious.

She smiled weakly.

„Actually, I am", she confirmed, pointing at the gun he was holding.

He laughed quietly, returning his gaze to the rifle in his hands.

„Yesterday you fought me for giving you a gun, now you don´t like this one ?"

She frowned.

„You think after being married to a sniper for decades, I´m a little touchy about it ?"

She chortled.

„Guess you´re right. Well, I never saw much of his equipment with the boy around."

Barney nodded. He knew that they had agreed that Victor wouldn´t bring any weapons home to avoid any possible accident. Even the well hidden secret compartments had been secured in a way that made it difficult to open them quickly for anyone who didn´t know the mechanism. For a kid, it would have been impossible.

„Was a sensible thing to do", he agreed.

She raised her hands in a desperate gesture. „I don´t know, I am just not used to the sight. Dinner´s ready, by the way."

He watched her stretch up to reach some plates at the shelf over the sink. It made his gaze fall on her tattoo again.

„What the hell you´re doing ?"

„Huh ?" she asked, getting up to her tiptoes.

„You´re not going to put that stuff on plates, are you ?"

She gave up on the plates and turned again.

„Why not ?"

„Those are MRE´s, girl - you don´t eat them from plates."

She gave a laugh.

„You guys don´t have plates in the field ? And there people go wondering why our troups lack motivation! How are we supposed to win wars that way?"

„Girl, there are rules", he insisted, though only half-serious. „Don´t you mess with them."

She raised her eyebrows and bit her lip for a moment, amusement on her face. She found that she really liked his dry sense of humor.

„You really want me to eat this stuff out of the bag it comes in ?" she asked, feigning disbelief.

„Jeez, girl, you´re headstrong!"

He got up and reached for the plates.

„Me ?" she asked in feigned innocence.

„You do the dishes, I tell you!" he said, handing them to her.

She laughed again.

„Actually, I didn´t really expect _you_ to do it!"

„Who made your tattoo ?" he asked then. „Tool ?"

If she was surprised by the somewhat sudden change of topic, she didn´t show it.

She laughed.

„Oh sweet innocence - do you really think that V. would have let a guy do it ? Debbie Rose Butler made it. I would have preferred Tool doing it, but Victor was definitely not up to let Tool of all people tattoo my side."

Barney laughed.

„Should have known."

„Come on! As if Tool would have groped me with Victor watching!"

He tilted his head.

„Well, in the end, you´ll never know. Tool likes life risky. And knowing Victor, one side glance would have been enought to make him snap."

„He drove Debbie half crazy. She threw him out in the middle of it!"

„How did she manage to do that ?"

„Admittedly, we collaborated."

They sat down at the ramshackle small table.

Pepper took a fork of her meal and grimaced.

„What ?" he asked.

„It´s so delicious, I always have to be careful not to get addicted!"

„Told you it´s not meant to be eaten from plates", he told her with a shrug. „Destroys the flavor!"

She nudged him.

„Uh come on !"

„What are you going to do with Victor´s equipment, by the way ?"

She chewed critically on another bite.

„You´re talking about the planes ?"

Barney frowned.

„Actually, I meant the weapons."

„There was not much left", she said, munching down another bite. „Jesse´s taken care of that."

He stopped chewing for a second, staggered.

„Jesse ? You thought of that as a good idea ?"

She tilted her head.

„I don´t like that look", she said then. „What are we talkin´ about here ?"

„You know that half the stuff is highly illegal."

„Illegal ?" she echoed, completely confused by now. „I somehow get the feeling that we are talking about different things here."

Barney raised his eyebrows.

She frowned, a bad feeling establishing itself at the pit of her stomach.

„You know about his weapons store, do you ?"

She shoved her plate away and sat back.

„We emptied the gun locker at the company", she stated.

She didn´t, he stated, taking another bite.

„But I take it that´s not what you´re talking about", she went on.

„I tell you what", he suggested. „When we´re back, I´ll take care of it. No need for you to burden yourself with that."

„Where is this stuff ?" she asked, ignoring his offer.

„You know, if he never told you..."

„_Where_, Barney ?"

He made a gesture of surrender with his free hand.

„At the airport."

„At the...could you be a bit more specific - _please_ ?"

„Why won´t you just let me take care of it ?" he repeated the offer calmly. "I´ll get rid of the stuff and give you the money. You don´t need to know the details."

She got up, obviously upset.

„See, this is not about the damn money! I was prepared, God knows - for secret lovers suddenly showing, for illegitimate children...but neither for a damn weapons store nor for this shit here!"

She looked at him.

„What else ?" she asked.

„What do you mean ?"

„What else just came to your mind ?"

He sighed, starting to wonder if she was the one able to read minds.

„If you´re planning on selling the planes, you should have let me a closer look at them first. The new owner would probably be quite surprised if he ever checked their guts too thouroughly."

„So the bastard was back in business, wasn´t he ?!" she asked angrily.

Done eating, he sat back, returning her gaze, but keeping silent.

„Answer me !" she exploded when he didn´t answer.

„The only thing _I_ know for sure - ´cause he told me - is that he went on a job with Booker, ´bout half a year ago."

„_Booker_ ? I haven´t seen him in years! Last thing I heard was that he´s dead!"

Barney shrugged and nodded at the same time.

„I heard that, too. But he´s alive, believe me."

„Why the hell didn´t you say a word ?"

She narrowed her eyes and stared at him.

„Have you already talked to him ?"

He shook his head.

„Well, it´s probably worth the effort then, no ?"

He nodded, realizing that she would have shouted at him no matter what he would have answered in the first place.

„Don´t think I haven´t tried. But Booker is not the guy you´ll talk to just like that. I left a message for him. When he´s available, he´ll get in touch."

She sank back down to her chair.

„Great!" she muttered. „No surprise then that he had all arranged for the case he might die."

* * *

The two plates and the one remaining mug where quickly taken care of. She worked in silence, muted by the latest findings.

Lifting the coffee pot, she realized that there was enough left for one last mug.

„Want the rest ?" she finally asked, throwing Barney a short glance.

„You don´t want it ?"

She bit her lip for a moment, then turned.

„I am sorry. There was no reason to shout at you."

„Forget about it."

„It´s just..."

„No need to explain", he interrupted her. „Your nerves are raw."

„True", she said. „But it´s still no reason to forget all manners."

He grinned.

"I can handle it."

She smiled.

„I think I will call it a day", she said, rubbing her forehead.

„Do that", he agreed. „It´s been a long flight."

„What do you suggest we do tomorrow ?" she inquired.

He shrugged.

„Some stock taking. And we should probably talk to the people in town. But if they´re only answering in French, you´ll have to do the talking."

She grinned.

„No problem. If you get there and call that hicksville a town, they will answer your questions gladly, I suppose."

* * *

It took Pepper some time to get to sleep that night despite the long flight. Listening to the small unfamiliar sounds around her and the wind howling outside, she tried for the uptenth time to make sense out of what she had gotten herself into.

Letting her mind wander for a while, she finally realized that her thoughts didn´t travel far - actually, they only made it the handful of steps over to the man right at the other side of the wall.

So far, the things going on had been rather odd than dangerous. Even when she had encountered the intruder at her house, she had not been attacked in any way, nor had she been threatened otherwise. Still, knowing Barney around made her feel safe, that much was clear.

For some reason, she hated the idea that he had known about Victor being back in his old business while she had not. She wondered if he would have admitted it if she had suspected something like that and had asked him about it, then realized that she would actually have expected him to even lie to her if that would have been what he had promised Victor before. A realiable friend was hard to find and she wondered not for the first time if there would have been anyone else who would have jumped right into this mess.

Pepper liked Barney´s stoic nature, his calm attitude of handling things mixed with the equally calm but accurate sense of humour. She had always liked the way he had handled Victor´s somewhat maverick character and she wondered if he had ever realized what a keen sense of handling people he had. But then, thinking for a moment about the gang of mercenaries he was the head of, she mused with a smile that he was aware of this talent.

She knew that he and Victor had shared a lot of principles which seemed old-fashioned and overcome to a lot of people these days. They had both never been men to show off, but not afraid to step forward if necessary - with the difference that Barney had usually managed to do so with much less noise than Victor. And though it had been uncomfortable and inconvenient sometimes, she had appreciated the way they both stuck to their beliefs. These men, of the same age, with a similar personal background and career, similar hobbies and likings, came with rough edges, but honest souls. She thought of that as something equally hard to find nowadays as a good friend.

She turned again on the worn mattress, hoping to find some sleep in the end to be fit and ready to do some stock-taking in the morning.

Barney had been right. There had been a reason why she had asked him for help and not Phil.

* * *

_Please review._


	10. Chapter 10

_Thanks to Kathie2808 for revising!_

_Please welcome the Dukes of Hazzard´s one and only Cooter Davenport as the mechanic...I own neither him nor any of the Expendables characters._

* * *

The next day started up slowly and rather late in the morning. They had both not slept very well and looked equally bleary-eyed in the morning. So, after a single cup of at least a little comforting coffee, they went down to the main hangar to check out the car.

It turned out that the old jeep, though wrecked inside by the people searching the place, was still running. Pepper commented drily on that being rather a miracle. The vehicle looked like it would fall to pieces any minute.

When they reached the small town of Echo Creek after half an hour´s drive on what had probably once been an acceptable road twenty years ago, Barney realized what Pepper had meant before talking about Hicksville. He had left the driving to Pepper and had time enough to take in the details when they finally arrived there.

The place looked admittedly relatively clean, but run-down. Paint and plaster crumbled away everywhere. The main road showed holes of the size of laundry baskets. The people around looked sullen in the best cases at the sight of the unfamiliar car.

„People don´t look too happy to see this car", Barney said, voicing his observations.

Pepper laughed.

„Don´t worry - they´re only jealous ´cause of our brand-new baby here", she answered sarcastically.

Barney found that she was right with the meaning of the words beyond the sarcasm. The cars around didn´t look much better or more up to date than theirs, only as if they had been taken better care of.

Pepper stopped about in the middle of the town in front of the only gas station. The owner, old Cooter Davenport, owned the only garage around as well. Recognizing Victor´s old jeep and becoming immediately suspicious, he abandoned the car he had been working on and came to the front.

Pepper got out of the car and rounded it. When he recognized her, he gave a peculiar sound of joy.

„Pepper ?! Is that really you ? I didn´t think I´d see you again around here!"

The slightly gruffy looking man in the oil-smeared working clothes hugged her heartily.

„Hey, Cooter, good to see you!"

Pepper did obviously not care about his whole rather disheveled appearance.

„Jesus, girl - that´s what I call a nice surprise!"

He eyed her up, still surprised to see her, and had to find that she looked weary. But then, considering the circumstances which had most likely brought her here, that was probably not that surprising at all.

The mechanic was up to offer his sympathies when his eyes fell on the man who had gotten out of the car behind Pepper.

„Who is he ?" he asked without any attempt to hide his mistrust.

Pepper chose to ignore that.

„Cooter, this is Barney, a longtime friend. He and Victor served together and..."

„Barney ?" Cooter interrupted her. „Barney Ross ?"

Barney nodded, exchanging a short look with Pepper.

„You are the guy Victor has been in South America with ?"

Barney nodded. If he was as surprised as Pepper by Cooter´s words, he didn´t show it.

„You´re the fellow who saved Victor´s ass right in your first week there and once again during the second ?"

„Yeah", Barney confirmed with a nod and the beginning of a grin.

Cooter put out a rather dirty hand to shake Barney´s, who accepted it.

„Well, Victor talked about the campaigns you have been on once in a while. Looks like he was damn right about you, seeing that you haven´t let her come here all alone."

The two men looked at Pepper who had raised her eyebrows by now, giving the mechanic a dark and somewhat puzzled stare.

„Come on!" Davenport said. „It´s damn lonely place nowadays. And with all those strange people around lately, I wouldn´t want to know you are alone out there."

„Strange people ?" Barney asked, his interest peaked.

Cooter frowned.

„Yeah. Just about four weeks ago..."

„You know", Pepper interrupted him, shivering in the chill breeze, "sorry to interrupt you...but does Ellie still brew that murderous coffee of hers ? I have some questions and if you have some time left for lunch...?"

Cooter tilted his head, then nodded.

„Oh, she does and you´re right, let´s get over there! She´ll be happy to see you too!"

* * *

The middle-aged owner of the only diner around, the woman called Ellie, hugged Pepper heartily and offered her sympathies to her. With Barney, things were similar to the encounter with Cooter before. She eyed him up warily, but the moment Pepper introduced him as a friend of the family and Cooter chiming in about Victor having mentioned him several times, her behaviour changed. She waved them over to the coziest corner of the place where Barney maneuvered Pepper into a seat where he would be able to have an eye on her without anyone coming in recognizing her immediately. Ellie brought not only the ordered coffee, but several pieces of cake and sandwiches as well.

„You need to eat", she told Pepper motherly. „I understand that you may not have had much appetite lately, but you need to look after yourself! Hard to believe nowadays, I know, but when my husband died back then, I´ve lost so much weight!"

„And he", she added, gesturing towards Barney,„will need something proper to eat as well. I take it you are here to clear out the hangar?"

The door opened and a small group of men entered. They were obviously regulars, greeting the landlady cheerily.

„Lunch time", she said with a shrug. „Now eat for a start, I´ll be back."

* * *

„Well, about four weeks ago, two guys came here, asking questions", Cooter told them, still chewing. „Well, I picked them up in the middle between the airfield and town."

„What were you doing out there ?" Barney asked.

„Oh, I wasn´t at the airfield. I only checked upon a friend´s lodge outside town. He´s visiting some family in the south. These guys were lucky. If they had stranded there at any other day, they would have had to walk the whole way to town. Their car had broken down."

„Wait", Pepper said. „If they came from the airfield in the first place - how did they get a car ?"

„Well, they were using yours over there", Cooter said.

Pepper exchanged a troubled look with Barney.

„Go ahead", Barney encouraged Cooter.

„Well, they were happy to see me and even happier realizing that I could take them and the car back to town. I recognized the jeep, but I was curious and didn´t ask them directly about it. While they were waiting for me to repair it, they talked to a lot of people, asked questions. Alright, they tried to do it without attracting attention, but you know what it´s like out here - strangers usually don´t just get lost out here of all places, and these two didn´t look very trustworthy."

Barney wondered silently if the mechanic had thrown a look into a mirror lately, but shoved the thought aside. Cooter Davenport was probably not the neatest person around, but he seemed honest, after all, and after days of fruitless searching for any clues, this conversation sounded finally promising.

„What kind of questions ?" he asked right at the same time with Pepper saying „What did they look like ?"

Cooter chuckled, gesturing to them to calm down.

„Haste makes waste! I need another coffee and I´ll come to that!"

* * *

They had been two, a stocky brute with a Spanish accent in military clothing, heavily tattooed, and a lean guy, American by his way of speaking, somewhat muscled, good-looking and with dark hair and an angular face, both about forty.

Asked directly why they were using Victor´s car in the end, the American had finally told Cooter that they had bought Victor´s hangar recently as well as the rest of the company back home in New Orleans and that they had simply been curious about what the place up in Canada looked like.

„I couldn´t believe that you had just simply sold the place, without coming here again and at least telling us", Cooter admitted.

„I asked him about you." Ellie had just stopped over at their table to refill their mugs again. „But he said they had never talked to you in person and that the widow had left it to some broker to take care of all the details. We had been surprised that you hadn´t come here or called, to be honest. But don´t get me wrong - it must all have been a horrible shock for you and you had surely more important things to take care of."

Pepper looked a little embarassed by now.

„You know, actually, Victor had told me that he had sold the place years ago", she said carefully.

Ellie raised her eyebrows.

„Oh", she said.

Pepper grimaced.

„I just found out some days ago that he still owns it. Or, to be more precise, that I own it now."

„So you haven´t sold it ?"

Pepper shook her head.

„No, actually not."

„Another question", Barney said, going over the somewhat awkward moment. "Someone probably saw the plane they used, right?"

„See, that´s the thing I would still have come to", Cooter said. „I drove over to the airfield two days later. Old J.D. Smith used to own one of the hangars out there. He was crazy about his old cars and motorcycles. His widow asked me to sell them after his death as she had no idea what which of them would be worth, and she gave me the keys to the hangar and allowed me to get whatever I could use of the spare parts still stored there. Well, when I arrived there, there was no plane to be seen, so I thought these guys had left. But later that day, I saw them again in town."

Pepper frowned.

„But the road to the airport ends there, no ?"

Cooter sat back, munching down the last piece of cake in delight.

„Well, kind of. There´s a forest track getting up to the lake from there. We sometimes use it to go there, fishing."

„Which lake ?" Barney asked.

„It´s always been called Green Lake only, hasn´t it ?" Pepper asked. „Does it even have an official name ?"

„No other one I´d know of", Cooter admitted with a grin.

„Of how big a lake are we talking ?" Barney inquired.

It wasn´t hard for Pepper to guess his thoughts.

„You're thinking of a waterplane ?

He nodded.

„Well, it is big enough for one to land there", she said.

„You´re sure ?"

She chuckled.

„I´ve already done it. Remember the trouble we had with the landing gear during the first couple of months after Victor had bought the Icarus ?"

„I sure do", Barney confirmed. They had bought the two identical Grumman HU 16 Albatross models together.

„Victor almost freaked out when he couldn´t lower the landing gear."

„As far as I remember things, he wasn´t that adept with water landings", Barney mused.

„You should have seen him in his seat right next to me with that stony face", Pepper chuckled.

„And he really let you do it ?" Cooter asked.

She shrugged.

„The first landings I ever made have been water landings and where I lived before, I had plenty of chances to practice. Admittedly, he was even more pissed after having to walk the whole way from the lake down to airport."

For a moment, they all looked thoughtful. Neither of them seemed to have trouble imagining the scene.

„Well, but back to where we started", Pepper said finally. „Is there still anything out there ? I remember some kind of a boathouse or something..."

„Well, the boathouse is still there", Cooter added. „And two derelict barns in addition. This Jacobs guy, the wildlife biologist stopping over from time to time, he´s using a waterplane as well. He bought an old jeep from me last year which he usually leaves at the old boathouse up there to have a car there if he stops by."

Pepper ogled the empty plates in front of them with a sigh of regret. Her stomach rumbled and she realized that she felt really hungry for the first time in days. Her eyes met Ellies.

„I´ll get you another bite to eat", the landlady suggested. „You girl look starved and it´s bad enough if nobody back at home realized that!"

She turned to follow up her words with actions.

„You know", Cooter said, "you should ask around a little as well. I didn´t hear any names and I didn´t see their plane, but you never know - people around may have picked something up or have seen something I don´t know about and they will tell you happily enough."

Pepper smiled.

„Well, we do need to do some grocery shopping anyway", she said.

Cooter grinned.

„Well, if anyone has some more information, you´re right at Rosco´s - that much is sure!" he said, referring to town´s only general store.

* * *

They spent two more hours around, with Pepper meeting people and asking questions on every step. It seemed that there was not much additional information to gather, but Pepper asked people to ask around and let her know if anything else came to their minds, leaving her phone number and promising to stop by at least one more time before they returned to New Orleans.

When they left the grocery store, a woman, about the same age as Pepper, called out for her.

Pepper turned her head and waved a hand, then grinned at Barney.

„This is Sandra, an old friend. Will take a minute, I´m afraid, I can´t leave without saying hello at least."

Barney waved a hand.

„Don´t worry. Just hand me these bags. I´ll put that stuff into the car meanwhile."

Pepper did as told and turned to greet Sandra while Barney headed for the car that was still parked in front of Cooter´s garage.

„Found out anything more?" the mechanic asked when Barney reached the jeep.

„Not much. But Pepper left her number for some people and we´ll be back here at least once before we leave, so...if you hear anything..."

Cooter nodded understanding.

„By the way", Barney said, watching Pepper and Sandra chatting some steps further down the road. „Could I use your phone ?"

* * *

„Is it only me or do they not know about you and Victor getting separated?" Barney asked when they got into the car again.

„Well, if you ask me, he hasn´t told them", Pepper answered lightly. „And I have to say, I am not that surprised. Made this whole afternoon feel somewhat like I had travelled back in time." She chuckled. „Well, like back in the _good_ old days."

With Barney driving this time, she sat back and pulled one knee up to her chest, not caring if she would dirty the anyway battered seat.

„So, we at least heard something new", she concluded.

Barney nodded thoughtful agreement.

Pepper gave a tired and somewhat desperate laugh.

„But is it very inappropriate to ask where it leads us ? We still don´t have any names. We don´t know where they came from. Actually, when Cooter started to talk about these strangers this morning, I thought we would finally learn something useful about these people."

„Give it some time", Barney suggested. „Maybe one or another will remember some additional detail. I talked to Tool, told him what we´ve heard."

„You talked to... _when ?_" Pepper asked perplexed.

„While you were talking to your friend, what was her name, Sandra ?"

„So, any news ?"

Barney shook his head.

„No, not really. But it´s the same there. Intelligence needs its time."

„Do we have this time ?" Pepper inquired.

Barney had been wondering the same, but was not willing to express that.

„Don´t worry", he told her quietly. „The matter will clear up."

They had driven in silence for a while when she turned her head and watched Barney from the side.

„Didn´t know you guys have been in South America together."

Barney gave an indeterminable sound at being reminded of Cooter´s reference to that.

„When was that ?" she inquired.

Barney laughed lowly.

„El Salvador ? Somewhere in the late seventies."

„You really saved his ass two times in two weeks ?"

He chuckled and nodded yes.

„Didn´t know that", she commented quietly.

Barney shrugged.

„That story was already old when you two first met."

Again, jealousy seeped into her feelings. She felt ridiculous at the same time for being jealous of Barney of all people. Through all the years, she had never felt like that before and it left her wondering why she was experiencing such feelings now with Victor gone.

„Well, I am glad you did what you did", she said, trying to overcome the irritating emotion.

„He saved my ass often enough later on in return", Barney answered lightly. „I guess, in the end, we were even."

„Well, and still...", she said.

She turned her head and stared into the woods lining the miserable street.

Barney kept silent, dwelling on his own thoughts. He had never regretted saving O´Rileys ass, neither back then nor later on. But the recent happenings had added an additional meaning to their shared past and Barney was not quite sure how to handle it by now.

* * *

_Please review._


	11. Chapter 11

_Long one...finally some action but probably not what you think :-)... hope you´ll like it :-)_

_Thanxxxs to my Beta!_

* * *

When they were back at the airfield in the late afternoon, they found that the lighting of the hangar was rather poor. So they decided to postpone that part until the next day and checked the little paperwork to be found instead. Pepper wasn´t surprised to find nothing worth mentioning in it.

She cooked pasta again in the evening. With most of the sparse kitchen appliances broken or simply missing, it took some improvising and more time than usual and left her ridiculously proud of succeeding in the end. Done for after dinner, she called it a day, the exertion of the last weeks and days finally getting to her.

* * *

The next day, they had a proper breakfast, planning on skipping lunch later on to get the stocktaking finally done. Pepper was in a rather bad mood and apologized tightlipped for it. The lousy mattress and the water suddenly running cold in the middle of her shower hadn´t made things any better. Barney, who was actually not used to any company at all in the mornings, with the only exception of Sylvester the cat, found that he could live with that and promised to have a look at the generator. Compared to Christmas and Toll Road being intolerable morning grouches with a tendency to let everyone else take part in it, she was still definitely the more agreeable company.

„The mere thought of a day full of stocktaking in this mess down there has me feeling depressed", she complained, ogling the empty coffee pot regretfully. „Shall I prepare more coffee before we get started?"

Barney looked thoughtful for a moment.

„Well, you could do that and we do the stocktaking. On the other hand, if you don´t feel like that, we could go and have a look at that lake."

Pepper looked up, surprised.

„You want to go there? You think that makes sense?"

„Well, why not? Will give me an impression of the distance and the landscape there."

She thought for a moment about it, then nodded.

„Why not", she said, her mood lightening up a little.

* * *

Knowing where to look for it, the forest track up to the lake was not that hard to find. Barney was behind the wheel again and regarding the miserable state of the trail, Pepper was not unhappy about it. Even with the four-wheel drive engaged, the car drifted from time to time, wheels spinning.

Still, when they finally arrived at the mountain plateau where the lake was located, an amazing view opened up in front of them.

Even with the cloud-covered sky, the wide lake seemed to shine in different shades of green. The water surface lay almost still, only softly moved by a surprisingly strong and icy wind. There were three small fishing boots carefully moored, but no plane or human being to be seen around. The two small barns Cooter had talked about lay silently on the left of the landing stage.

Pepper got out of the car behind Barney and walked slowly past him when he stopped to orientate himself and take the place in. She walked along the weather-worn landing stage up to its end. There she stopped, letting her gaze wander over the water. The wind made her shiver and she put her hands into the pockets of the warm flight jacket. Still, the stinging cold made her painfully feel a little more alive and a little less numb.

Barney was smart enough not to disturb her. Pepper was not the kind of person to yield to despair and sink into depression, but she needed to compose herself from time to time and she had looked thoughtful the whole morning.

With obviously no one around, he quickly checked the two barns. At one, the before mentioned jeep was parked, the keys to the barn and jeep to be found under a loose plank close to the doors like Cooter had told them. He checked the place and the car briefly, but found nothing of interest. The second barn was not even locked and contained various kinds of fishing equipment, but again nothing helpful. All in all, the place looked as deserted as the airfield.

Afterwards, he found that Pepper had sat down on the edge of the landing gate meanwhile. Her posture was still the same upright one of hers, but she looked frailer to him as usual and, the way she sat there with the wind blowing in her face, very lonely.

He felt the urge to walk over to her and talk to her, but had at the same time no idea what to tell her. Finding the right words to comfort any woman in general and Pepper in particular felt strongly like exploring uncharted waters. He decided that the only reasonable option left to him was cautious exploration - and that there was probably nothing really appropriate he could say anyway.

He walked slowly over to her, making sure that she would hear his footsteps on the wooden landing gate. When he reached her, she padded the spot right next to her, throwing a quick look up to him.

„Sit with me", she invited him.

He hesitated and she gave him a weak smile.

„Are you gonna tell me that I am going to catch a cold this way ?" she inquired, to his relief more relaxed than he had expected.

„Something like that crossed my mind", he admitted, sitting down finally. The water level was low enough to allow her as well as him to sit on the edge of the landing gate with the legs dangling slightly above the water surface.

„You know, this place is that calm...makes me wish to simply stay here, motionless right in this spot, and wait for things to sort themselves out."

Barney didn´t comment, but felt that it would not be like her to do so.

„You´re thinking of surrender?" he asked after a moment.

„No", she answered, sounding unmoved. „Just rest for a moment. Maybe getting my mind cleared a little."

„You want to be alone for a little while ?"

She turned his head to him and threw him a peculiar look.

„And make you wait for me while I finish feeling sorry for myself?" she asked grumpily.

Barney´s expression changed only the slightest bit, but it was enough to make Pepper realize that she had just alienated him with her gruff behaviour.

„I am sorry", she said. „I am no good company today and should be lucky that you´re putting up with me like that. I´m glad to have you around."

„Don´t worry", he mumbled, looking over the water. „Compared to Lee being crabby, you´re still rather cheerful - and you have at least reason."

She watched him from the side for a moment. Realizing it, he turned his head back to her, locking eyes with her.

„What is it with you picking only grumpy bastards as friends ?" she asked, a thin smile back to her face.

He returned a similarly thin smile to her.

„Like will to like, probably."

She nudged him unexpectedly in the side.

„Yeah, you could have fooled me!"

Some raindrops hit them as well as the water surface and made them look up to the sky simultaneously.

„Great", she mumbled. „That´s all we needed! Wouldn´t be surprised if it started to snow in addition!"

He smirked.

„Come on, grouch!" he told her, getting up and offering her a hand to pull her back to her feet. „Let´s go."

„You´ve already had a look at the barns?" she asked back on their way to the jeep. It had started to rain heavily by now.

He nodded.

„Yeah, nothing there."

„I should have helped you."

Barney crocked his eyebrows.

„Get in!" he only ordered, gesturing towards the jeep.

* * *

On their way back, besides the fact that the track led now downhill, they became stuck.

Pepper swore.

„Move over here", Barney ordered her quietly, opening the door. „I´ll have a look."

After three fruitless tries, Pepper hopped out of the car to have a look on her own.

„This is getting better and better", she said. They had gotten nicely bogged down and Barney was already covered in mud up to the waist.

„I´ve seen a shovel somewhere in the car", he told her, looking around for something solid to slide it under the stuck tire. „Get back in."

It took them a little while to get the car free again. By the moment they could finally drive on, they looked both like after a mud bath and were soaked to the skin.

„So much for our restorative trip to the lake", she mumbled tiredly when they finally arrived.

* * *

After changing into some dry clothes and a bite to eat, they finally went down to have a closer look at what Victor had stored at the hangar.

The boxes and crates around contained all kinds of stuff, from electronic parts over laptops up to what looked like a collection of antique weapons. Pepper was surprised by the rather big amount of stuff Victor had stored here, most probably temporarily.

„How the hell am I supposed to find out who this stuff belongs to ?" she complained, diving into another crate.

Barney, busy rummaging through the chaos around the workbenches along one wall, frowned.

„You know, if nobody has asked for it so far...you should probably just sell it to the highest bidder."

She laughed out.

„What ?" he asked.

„Tell me how I am going to sell this stuff here!" she said with mild surprise, waving him closer. It wasn´t hard to guess that the contents of the crate held everything needed for a carefully planned burglary.

„I´d bet Tool can even find you someone to sell this to", Barney commented dryly.

Pepper sighed.

„Yeah, probably. But to do that, I will still have to write down first what we got here. Will take some time."

He shrugged.

„We´re not in a hurry, are we ?"

She looked around.

„Well,_ I_ have no other plans", she answered with a weak smile.

That moment, the lights flickered shortly, then they went out.

„What _the hell_ is wrong with this day!" Pepper snapped, losing patience.

* * *

A little while later, with Barney still trying to get the generator running again, Pepper looked around, trying to decide where to start with the stocktaking. He had ordered her firmly to stay inside, telling her that it was enough if one of them got wet again. For once she had done as told, but suspected strongly that he had only wanted to have her out of the way.

She looked around, unsure where to start.

At the rear wall of the hangar had a make-shift high-level rack been installed, most likely already by the first owner. With some milk glass windows above, there was at least some light left there as well.

The lowest compartments held only some empty cartons and boxes. Most of them were empty, the rest contained only some additional packing material. But the second shelf board held some smaller cartons which looked carefully sealed.

Wondering how one was supposed to get stuff in and out, she looked around for a ladder of some kind.

* * *

Pepper groaned slightly, trying to peer into one of the ominous cartons which she had cut open one handedly with her pocketknife. Instead of searching any longer for a ladder, she had checked the stability of the whole shelf construction briefly and decided that, being designed to store goods and screwed on tightly to the rear wall, it would carry her rather small weight.

When she had finally managed to fumble one of the boxes open with one hand while balancing on the lowest shelf and hanging on to one of the vertical girders with the other hand, she froze the moment the cross brace under her feet gave a small creaking sound. She let go of the box and grabbed frantically hold on the brace above her.

One part of the brace beneath her feet gave suddenly way and she cried out.

„Barney!" she yelped. „Goddamnit, help me!"

Barney hurried in from outside, alarmed by her shouting. Spotting her clinging to the makeshift rack, he shook his head.

„How the hell did you get up there ?" he inquired.

„Just help me down!" she snapped. „It´s giving way!"

He grinned.

„Alright, alright, keep your nerve."

He watched the construction hesitantly. The first compartment´s floor was already above his own head. Pepper had somehow managed to climb up so far that he wasn´t able even to reach up to her feet. And as things looked, there was no way for him getting up to her without the whole construction collapsing.

„I am afraid you´ll just to have let go, girl", he told her. „There´s no way I can get up there to you."

„You´re kidding ?" she asked.

She turned and craned her neck to try and throw a look down to him to evaluate that suggestion.

„Come on. I´ll catch you."

Peppers fingers started to hurt. The brace under her left food gave another suspicious creak.

„Pepper, get down there before the whole thing comes down!" he ordered. „Just let go."

„I can´t !"

„Good Lord, if you´re afraid of heights, why the hell did you get up there ?"

„Afraid of heights...", she mumbled disbelievingly to herself, Barney´s comment feeling like very bad timed teasing, regarding her job. „_Do_ something!" she barked then.

„Pilot without a chute", he muttered, shaking his head.

„Let go", he ordered her, louder. „I´ll catch you. On three, alright ?"

„_On three ?_" she asked, still not sounding convinced.

„Yeah."

„Is it _on_ three or is it one, two, three and..."

The bar under her gave way. With a low squeal, she let go.

* * *

Pepper crashed down on Barney in a rather unladylike way. They both went down in the process, despite Pepper being a lightweight. Barney tried to cover her head as well as his own from being hit by parts of the rack or anything it contained while rolling to the side, only to be rewarded by being hit by her elbow right in the face.

They landed painfully right into the middle of the scattered tools and empty oil cans.

It was Barney´s turn to swear heartily.

„Oh Lord!" Pepper groaned, making it back to her feet and turning to see if he was alright. She watched him getting back up and eyed him up critically.

„Did I hit you hard ?" she asked, pointing at his face.

He only gave an indeterminate sound, carefully touching his temple.

Looking him up and down first, then looking down at herself, she realized that they both were all over smeared with spilled oil, in Barney´s case only in addition to having gotten wet again while trying to repair the generator.

„Oh dear", she said, not able to suppress a short laugh. „I am sorry! Let me see that!"

She tried to wipe her hands clean from the oil, using her anyway ruined jeans for it.

„Surely not", he refused.

„Come on, I am sorry!" she said, forcing his hand away from his face to inspect the damage.

„What the hell where you doing up there anyway ?"

She threw a short look at the swaying, but still nevertheless standing rack.

„Trying to check those boxes. Damn, this will bruise."

He shook his head, disbelieving.

„Let´s get upstairs. I´ll find something to cool it", she suggested.

„Don´t be ridiculous."

„You don´t be", she insisted.

„You´re alright ?" he asked.

She nodded, still grinning.

„Think you had the harder landing of the two of us. Looks like I´ll have to do the dishes again tonight, huh ?"

He nodded, giving a grumpy sound.

„So much´s clear", he rumbled.

* * *

A while later, she knocked softly at the bathroom door where Barney frowned at the oil soaked shirt in his hand. By now, he was definitely out of spare clothes.

„Get in", he answered.

She shoved the door open, to find him there only in jeans. It was the first time she had a good look at the tattoos covering his upper arms and chest.

„Wow", she only said, locking eyes with him. „They´re great! Surely Tool´s work in your case, I take it ?"

He nodded.

„You know, I saw Christmas´ Expendable tattoo last week", she said with another glance at his arms. „I've been wondering about yours. Couldn´t believe the boss is not wearing one."

He broke into a wry grin, then made a half turn.

Pepper gave only a small sound of amazement at the sight of the tattoo between his shoulder blades.

„You´re crazy!" she said, eyeing it up. „But you know that, I guess ?"

Out of a sudden impulse, she reached out and followed the outline of the skull with her fingertips. The unexpected touch made him twitch for a second.

„Jeez!" she said. „I´m sorry!"

He chortled.

„Came just unexpected."

„No idea what got into me."

He turned again and she looked down to the clothes she was still holding in one hand.

„I thought you may be out of spare clothes."

„Actually, I am", he said, accepting them, confirming her ass assumption.

„I couldn´t find any more shirts, but some spare pants. Could be a little wide for you..."

Handing him the spares, she had held out her other hand as well.

„Hand me the dirty stuff, will you ?"

He hesitated for a split second, then handed her the soaked shirt.

„What about the rest ?" she asked

He didn´t answer, frowning.

„Come on", she challenged quietly, giving him one of those amazing smiles. „It´s not the first time I´m takin´ care of a man´s dirty laundry, you know."

His frown deepened while he was wondering if she had any idea how long it had been since anyone had taken care of his for him.

„Hand it over", she insisted, shaking her head softly. „I am out of spare clothes as well by now and I am not going to spend the rest of the time here and a ten hours flight in addition in this scruffy stuff."

He surrendered silently to her this time.

When he handed the rest of his clothes over to her, she only smiled and took them, leaving him perplexed.

Watching her disappear to the small bathroom, he was left with the feeling that she had just done something ridiculously mundane, but still very intimate at the same time. In contrast to him, she didn´t seem to be disturbed by that in any way.

* * *

„We had just reached the city when..."

Pepper interrupted herself when the light started to flicker. A moment later, everything went dark again.

„Shit!" Barney muttered. He was at her side within the second, gun ready. Though absolutely blind for a second, Pepper recognized the sound of the gun correctly for what it was.

He forced her down to the floor right next to him.

„Tell me that this is only the damn generator conking down again", she whispered, more indignation than fear in her voice.

„You stay here", he mumbled.

He moved silently but she reached out for him and closed a small hand around his forearm.

„I am _not_ staying here on my own!"

Now there it was, her hushed voice suddenly a little shrill.

„Got your gun ?" he asked.

„Over in the bedroom", she answered quietly.

He grimaced in the darkness.

„Right next to the flashlight", she added.

He was grateful for a second for the darkness which concealed his frown as well as him shaking his head.

With the first alarming moments over, it turned out quickly that she had been right. It seemed that they were still alone at the abandoned airfield. Only the generator had died down again. It took them some minutes out in the still steadily down pouring rain to realize that the thing seemed finally to be done for. There was no way to get electricity back for now.

* * *

Later that night, Pepper crossed the room slowly on her tiptoes, trying to avoid any sound.

„Can´t you sleep ?" Barney asked out of his corner.

She jumped.

„For God´s sake !" she hissed.

He chuckled.

„Not funny", she commented.

She put the flashlight down to the table and grabbed the matches right next to one of the emergency candles they had lit before. Then she turned to check through the shelves over the sink.

„What you´re looking for ?"

She sighed.

„I could use a drink", she answered. „I am damn cold. But as it was to be expected with a mutual friend of ours, there is not a single drop of alcohol around."

She shivered, crossing her arms in front of her chest and rubbing her upper arms.

„Damn it! This place was a mess before, but with ´dark` and ´cold` added, I just hate it!"

„Things could be worse", he stated laconically. „At least, it´s dry in here."

She sighed, then smiled.

„You _could_ try and put some more clothes on", he suggested dryly, nevertheless enjoying the sight as she was again wearing an overlarge shirt only. „Would probably help even better against the cold than the drink."

„Smartass!" she answered, obviously not offended. „But my clothes problem just changed from ´out of clean clothes` into ´out of dry clothes` when we went out there to check the generator! The rest of the clothes has not dried up yet with the all the raining outside."

„You´ve got nothing to change at the plane ?"

She laughed.

„Oh, I did - put it on this afternoon after our oil bath."

She watched him for a moment, her suspicion about the sofa being too small for him confirmed.

„You know, that bed over there is big enough for the both of us", she said.

„I´m fine here."

She laughed.

„Yeah. I can see that. Come on. I´ll leave the door´s side to you and I promise not to bite you."

When he didn´t answer, she went over to him and went down to her knees in front of the couch to get on eye level with him, putting her forearms casually down to the edge of the couch.

„What ?" he asked, getting up to one elbow.

She eyed up the bruise along his temple, then the rest of his face.

Then she smiled.

„You´re stubborn", she told him.

„Me ?" he asked, sounding honestly surprised.

„You", she confirmed.

„You know, I´ve been wondering about somethin´...", she went on.

„´bout what ?" he asked in the deep and somewhat throaty voice of his.

She watched him for another moment, the brown eyes returning her look calmly. There was something about these eyes and this voice that had kept messing with her peace of mind long enough by now.

Without further ado, she bent forward and kissed him.

* * *

For a split second stretching into what felt like hours, she feared that he wouldn´t respond to it.

Then his fingertips brushed softly over her cheek on their way to the back of her neck to force her carefully closer.

She felt slightly dizzy when they parted. It had taken all her courage to dare and do this.

He eyed her up silently. When she bent forward again, he stopped her and for another fearful second, she thought that he would reject her after all. Instead, he sat up and pulled her up from the floor and close to him.

„You´re sure this is wise ?" he asked quietly.

She followed the outline of the tattoo on his bare chest with one fingertip. Then the intriguingly green eyes returned to his face.

„No", she answered honestly. „But I´m sure it´s what I want."

He watched her for a moment, her features looking even softer in the dim quivering light.

Out in the field, decisions had to be made within seconds and he had gotten used to trust his guts doing so.

Still, it surprised him that he made this decision equally fast.

In the end, there was no way to tell this woman no.

* * *

_Please review._


	12. Chapter 12

_Thanks to my Beta - lost without you ;-) _

_As it has become a habit, here´s the playlist of stuff I listened to while writing..._

_Mountain - Mississippi Queen (the song the whole thing was inspired by)_

_Micalizzi & Annibale - Trinity (Bud Spencer & Terence Hill Soundtrack)_

_Lynyrd Skynyrd - Sweet home Alabama_

_Waylon Jennings - Good ol´ boys (Dukes of Hazzard theme)_

_Russell Watson - Where my heart will take me (Enterprise theme)_

_Aerosmith - Taste of India _

_Katzenjammer - I will dance (when I walk away)_

_Brooke Fraser - Something in the water_

_Gary Moore - Over the hills and far away_

_Creedence Clearwater Revival - Born on the bayou_

_Shakira - Underneath your clothes_

_- don´t ask ;-) -_

_...and there we go!_

* * *

When he woke the next morning, Barney found himself alone. For a weird moment, he was not sure if he should really believe what his mind presented him as the memories of the last night.

At some point, they had changed over from the kitchen to the small bedroom. It was where he found himself alone by now.

Straightening up and running a hand through his hair, he listened to the sounds coming from the next room. China was put on some wooden underground, most likely the table. Silverware seemed to follow. To his surprise, a radio played lowly in the background. They broadcasted some old-fashioned song in French. A less professional voice followed the ups and downs of the music with the female singer, to Barney´s amusement in what sounded like perfect French at least to him, but still with an unmistakable southern drawl.

He remembered vaguely that Pepper´s mother had been Canadian.

By the time the song ended, he found himself dressed and ready, but still standing in the middle of the small room, hesitating. He realized that if it had been an option, he would most likely have decided to go for a shower first. It made him call himself a damn coward. The next thought crossing his mind was that there wouldn´t be any hot water this morning anyway. It led inevitably to the insight that a cold shower would probably have been only beneficial, not to talk about the fact that he surely deserved it for his cowardice alone.

* * *

When he finally entered the kitchen, he was welcomed by the aroma of fresh coffee and scrambled eggs with bacon.

„Mornin´", he managed to say, realizing immediately how grumpy the greeting had sounded.

„Morning!" she answered with a lot more energy, throwing him a glance and a smile over her shoulder.

„Hope you´re hungry", she said.

„Wasn´t it you who agreed with me that a mug of pitch black coffee and a cigarette is sufficient for breakfast only some days ago?"

She chuckled.

„You know that´s true. But for some reason, since Ellie tried to feed me up with that awesome cake of hers yesterday..."

There was no need to tell him that her appetite had more likely been triggered by certain nocturnal activities which had always caused her to raid the fridge afterwards. So she kept the truth to herself and her smile hidden from him.

„Coffee?" she asked instead.

„Gladly. How did you do that?"

„Well, we have a gas cooker - thank God for that!"

She filled a cup for him.

„Strong?" he inquired.

„Pitch-black", she confirmed cheerfully. „Not that we´d have had cream and sugar out here in the middle of nowhere!" she added wryly.

When she turned to hand him the mug, she realized that he still stood in the doorframe, frowning.

They exchanged a look and she crossed the distance between them to stop right in front of him, the mug in her hand.

„Pepper, I..."

„Sh !" she interrupted him, putting the index finger of her free hand softly over his lips. „Me first!"

He hesitated for a second, then nodded, signalizing that she had his attention.

He studied her face for a second. He felt that for the first time since she had called him, she looked a little bit more like herself. A little bit more like the relaxed good-humoured girl with the distinct sarcastic streak he had known.

_Hold your horses, pal - don´t you pride yourself on that!_

Her standing that close to him brought the last night back to him with full force and for a moment, he simply stood, wondering if she experienced the same.

„I don´t want you to feel, well, obligated in any way."

He was about to answer her, but she gestured to him to give her another moment.

She went up to her tiptoes and kissed him softly.

„Thank you", she said with a small smile. „For last night."

„You´re okay?" she asked after another moment, somewhat worried.

The question came as unexpected as everything else had.

He managed a somewhat belated nod.

„You´re too?"

She nodded, a mischievous expression on her face he had never seen there before, reading _´Believe me this, buddy !`_

She finally handed him the mug. He accepted it, still not able to shake the tension off completely.

It was her turn to eye him up.

„Barney Ross, do I see a man with a bad conscience?" she asked.

His short glance was enough to confirm her worries.

A shadow of sadness flashed over her features.

„This may sound crude, but damnit, Barney, he´s gone! And even if yesterday might have made things feel different for a moment, whatever has been between him and me had been gone long before. You _know_ that."

„Have you any idea how badly he loved you?"

_Damn, what´s wrong with you? Found nothing worse to say right now?!_

The words had slipped him before he had thought things through.

Pepper turned to him, taken by surprise, while Barney kept wondering what had made him ask such a question at this of all possible moments.

„Actually, I have", she answered finally. „And I loved him. But as a couple, we were hopeless - and there was no way to change that, even if he was not able to admit it."

She gestured towards the table.

„Take a seat now - you´re making me uncomfortable."

Barney considered simply surrendering to whatever she would ask for, as his brain had obviously quit the service anyway. He silently watched her putting a plate down in front of him.

„And come on", she stated. „He would surely have preferred you to any lightheaded freak who´s just after my money..."

„You know, you two might have been more alike than you ever noticed", Barney mused.

„I am not sure if that really is a compliment", she replied with a smile.

Well, Pepper was definitely the more appealing version and definitely the more agreeable choice to share a bed with. Chewing on the first fork of breakfast and reflecting about that last thought, Barney realized slowly how deep in shit he already was.

„And I am no sociopathic sharpshooter with an unhealthy affection for cage fights", she added.

She sat down at the opposite side of the table, putting her own plate down in front of her, noticing his sceptical expression.

„You think he would have wanted me to speak of him as perfect ? He collected character flaws like other people stamps!"

„Jeez, girl! Granted, he could be difficult...",

She laughed out.

„Come on, Barney, are you that loyal to him or do you think of yourself as equally ´difficult`?"

She shook her head, still smiling.

„You know what I am talking about. He was hot-tempered, imperious and moody and he drove me crazy with his compulsive sense of order! And it would be quite ridiculous to try and tell somethin´ else ´cause no one knowing him would believe me."

Barney sat back, finally smiling as well.

„Can´t deny that", he admitted.

She nodded.

„See. Still, he wouldn´t have been the man he was if things had been any different and it was just him I had fallen in love with. And all that doesn´t change the fact that he was for the boy the best father I could have imagined when he was at home. God, the boy adored him. When Victor was around, I could have left for the whole day without Jesse even realizing it!"

„He surely looks much like him..."

„It´s not only the looks. I´m stuck with a twenty year old hothead tellin´ me that my house is the biggest mess he´s ever seen every time he´s home!"

She got up to refill their mugs.

„Uh, don´t you say that", Barney contradicted. „He might have his father´s looks, but he´s got a quite different nature. He´s a guy to think first..."

„And strike afterwards?" she asked, amused. „You really think that ?"

He nodded.

„Might have been the same with Victor if he had had someone like you to mold his character."

She froze for a second right where she stood. When she finally returned to the table and handed him the refilled mug again, she looked taken aback.

„Did I say something wrong ?" he inquired.

She shook her head.

„No."

She took a sip of her coffee.

„Seems I just had forgotten how damn straightforward you are."

Barney sat back, feeling that he really needed a cigar by now.

_Said the girl dragging me to bed and telling me not to feel obligated the next mornin´ ._


	13. Chapter 13

„So, what are wo going to do today ?"

Pepper was already up on her feet again the moment she had finished eating. Barney sat back, still trying to catch up on the last few hours. He had actually been hungry this morning, that alone was odd enough. She was back in a pair of jeans and one of her longsleeves this morning, a purple tanktop peaking out from under the shirt. Barney´s gaze rested on the spot between the waistband of her pants and the hem of her shirt where he had first spotted her tattoo peaking out, and caught himself now waiting for it to happen again.

_Well, you _wanted _to see the whole thing, didn´t you ?_

He felt admittedly damn tired again this morning. But compared to what mornings usually felt like, the weariness felt different. The pain in his muscles felt less distinct.

With Pepper just having turned her back on him, he couldn´t else but shake his head. He had an idea about the reasons. Lee´s jabber was suddenly back on his mind.

He realized belatedly that she was watching him by now, a peculiar smile on her face.

„Sorry", he managed to mumble. „What did you say ?"

„I asked what we´re going to do today."

Barney perked his eyebrows for a moment.

„Get the rest of the stocktaking done ?" he suggested. „We could drive into town again tomorrow and get the plane ready tomorrow afternoon, departure on Friday, at dawn ?"

_Two more nights to go and you have no idea how to handle this, pal._

She looked thoughtful for a moment, then nodded.

„Sounds good to me. Is it a lot to ask if you could have another look at the generator ?"

„You don´t like cold showers ?" he asked with a grin.

„No!" she answered, drawling exaggeratedly. „Get me hot water and I´ll promise you I´ll get you the best dinner tonight you can get with only a damn gas cooker ´round!"

„Alright."

He got up to his feet as well.

„Then I´ll have a look."

„Damn piece of junk!" Pepper mumbled.

XXX

Barney checked out of habit on his weapon on his way down the metal staircase to the hangar.

There were at least some clues by now, but still nothing crucial.

Two more nights to go.

_Get your fuckin´ head out of the clouds and pull yourself together!_

He needed to think straight again and he needed to do that fast.

Glancing around the hangar, he suddenly narrowed his eyes.

There was movement at the backdoor.

XXX

„Pepper !" he barked, the weapon already at hand, fighting reflexes kicking in.

The intruder must have heard him coming down the stairs. Barney pressed his back against the stair-rail, scanning the place for more people.

Pepper appeared at the upper end of the stairs.

„What is it ?" she asked good-humouredly.

„We´ve got company!" he barked. „Get your weapon and stay where you are! Shoot at anyone coming up those stairs!"

There seemed to be only one from what he could see. Well, it had only been one back at her place, but that was no guarantee.

XXX

He hurried towards the back door to follow the mysterious intruder. He had almost reached it when someone jumped him. The guy had obviously waited for him there. At the same time, he was sure that he had seen one man leave through the door.

So two, possibly more. Goddamnit.

He shoved his attacker back, striking a heavy blow against his head. The guy stumbled, but didn´t go down, then jumped forward again.

Barney blocked the man´s blow, but stumbled over some of the tools which still lay scattered all around. There was a short scuffle. Then the second one was suddenly back, kicking him heavily in the side and throwing him off balance. The second one grabbed him and smashed him backwards against one of the metal braces of the rack that Pepper had climbed up the day before.

Barney could usually take a lot but he had knocked his head hard against the brace and the impact left him dizzy for a second. He still noticed that his two attackers hesitated, exchanging a quick glance, but had missed the reason for that. With him having been smashed against the brace, the whole already swaying construction of the rack looked like it would finally come down.

„Move!" one guy barked at the other, then struck another blow at Barney.

A second later, the whole rack came rumbling down on them. Barney´s world turned black.

XXX

He came around a while later, his head feeling like someone had just put a dozen of bullets right through it without killing him.

The hangar lay silent. They had left him right where the rack had tumbled down on him and he had a hard time getting out from under its remains. Some sharp-edged parts had cut through his clothes and left bloody scratches and his left arm and shoulder felt stiff and numb, but otherwise he was unharmed. He managed to get up on his feet, grabbing the revolver he had dropped before. Whoever had attacked him had obviously not cared to take it with them.

„Pepper!" he called, his voice ringing hollowly through the building.

There was no answer.

He hurried up the stairs, gun at the ready, but the place was deserted. There had obviously been a fight. The table had been overthrown, the remains of their breakfast scattered all across the floor. Pepper´s Walther lay where she had possibly dropped it right next to the door separating the shabby living area from the stairs and the hangar.

He kicked the doors to the bedroom and bathroom open, not caring about possibly breaking them, but there was nothing to be found. With the place secured, he realized in surprise that his weapons rested still at their place right next to the old sofa. They hadn´t even taken the ammo.

Swearing under his breath, he grabbed a rifle and hurried down again, fearing the worst.

XXX

The airfield lay deserted as well, at least from what he could see from his position at the front doors of the hangar. There was nothing to be heard besides the still heavy rain.

Then he caught sight of the motionless figure kneeling out there in the rain, tied to the landing gear of the plan.

He had been almost sure that their attackers had abducted the woman he was supposed to protect. It should have been a relief to find that they hadn´t taken her, but at that moment, there was only a freezing cold forcing its way through his veins.

At some silent corner of his mind, he was aware that it could simply have been a trap and that he would have been easy prey for anyone out there waiting for him to leave cover. But with whoever had attacked them leaving his guns untouched and not even taking the revolver from him in the first place or simply killing him right away, he threw all caution to the wind.

He called out her name, but there was no way she would hear him over the wind and rain.

XXX

Someone had ripped the loose shirt she´d been wearing and had used it to tie up her hands to the landing gear, to leave her finally out there in the rain and cold in nothing more than a by now soaked tanktop and jeans. She had dropped to her knees by now. Still, her whole body twitched the moment she heard his voice.

„Pepper!"

The blade of his pocketknife slid easily through the bonds and she collapsed forwards into his arms.

„Talk to me, girl, are you alright ?"

She made an undeterminable sound and forced her whole body forward, so hard that he had to steady the both of them.

„You´re alright ?" he repeated. She trembled heavily and was barely able to speak with her teeth chattering badly.

„Thought you were dead", she mumbled, her words barely understandable. „I thought they killed you."

Dropping the knife, he slipped his hands into her hair to make her look at him. Dark bruises were building along the left side of her face, but she seemed unharmed besides that.

„Come on", he said, pulling her up to her feet. „We got to get out of here."

XXX

It was a matter of half a minute to grab the rest of his weapons and the duffle bag as well as some clothes. He returned to Pepper who he had left right next to the hangar doors.

„I´m back in a second", he told her.

„Wha´ you´re doin´ ?" she managed to say.

„We got to leave", he muttered. „They slashed the jeep´s tyres, they may also have messed with the plane. I´m right back."

Pepper only nodded, frantically trying to stop her body from trembling.

Barney hurried over to one of the other hangars. He had checked them out the day they had arrived and knew what he would find there.

Pepper stared in disbelief at the old truck he stopped right next to her a minute later.

Barney jumped out.

„Get in", he told her, helping her up.

„What the..."

„Stop arguing!"

He climbed back into the driver´s seat. He wasn´t going to make things that easy again for these freaks if they returned.

XXX

Fifteen minutes and a rather adventurous drive later, Barney parked the car in front of the lodge Cooter had been talking about. Another minute later, Pepper watched him unceremoniously breaking the front door´s lock. Still shocked and freezing, she didn´t comment on it.

Barney knew the signs of hypothermia, though this was a mild one.

„Get out of these clothes", he told her. After looking around for a second, he forced the mattress out of the bed hidden in a niche on the left side to drop it right next to the fireplace.

She watched his doings with wide eyes, but didn´t argue.

Grabbing some of the logs neatly stacked right next to the fireplace, he quickly lit a fire. The whole place looked neat and tidy inside, his owner and inhabitant obviously not the messy type.

„Got to help me", she managed to say, her fingers too numb and still trembling.

He forced her carefully out of the clothes. Doing so at least confirmed his hope that she had stayed unharmed with the exception of her bruised face. He asked only the questions he needed immediately answered, instructing her to answer them briefly. He managed somehow to get her dressed in two layers of overlarge but dry clothes and to prepare some tea the owner of the lodge had fortunately in stock. Then he took her to the makeshift bed, staying with her there to warm her slowly up again, the weapons at hand.


	14. Chapter 14

Barney had found himself in a lot of strange situations over the years, but the fact alone didn´t make this one feel less odd.

Pepper had finally fallen asleep in his arm. It had taken hours to get her warm again. It had taken hours to stop the tears. After the attack in the morning, she had finally broken down. It had surely not been only the last few days or weeks which had taken a lot out of her.

He could tell that she had tried to hold it all back at first and play the tough girl, but it had only made things worse.

The fresh memory of her falling asleep completely at ease not only twelve hours before in his arms in comparison to the picture of misery she was now made bitter rage rise in him.

He had seen a lot of bad things, had seen people getting demoralized or battered or killed way too often. But when he had thought her abducted in the morning, the shock had nevertheless been profound. All those years of carefully trying to keep people away, all those efforts to keep the circle of friends narrow hadn´t made it less shocking when he had spotted her outside the hangar.

Barney felt that it was about damn time to get this matter settled.

He felt like closing his eyes and just thinking about everything again from the start, but falling asleep was not an option. It was unforgivable that they had been able to lay hands on her in the first place. He wouldn´t allow that to happen a second time.

He didn´t feel very comfortable about their recent hideout, but didn´t like the idea of staying in town for the night either. But they would have to drive into town so that he could make some calls and they would finally have to get back home.

He had usually no problems making strategic decisions. The realization of having them now only confirmed his worries.

As amazing the last night had been, it had been a mistake to give in to her, at least right now. There was still a lingering doubt if it had been alright at all, but right in the middle of this mess, it had definitely been the wrong thing to do.

His thoughts returned to what she had told him. Two men, probably the same who had been asking around at Echo Creek. Probably.

A small sound outside the lodge had Barney sitting up. Pepper flinched, immediately realizing his tension despite the fact that she had just woken up.

„Get over there", he whispered, pointing at a corner of the room where she was hidden from sight for anyone coming in through the door.

XXX

Half a minute later, Pepper frowned at the picture in front of her. Barney had faced the arrival by now, gun at the ready. Unfortunately, it was the same with the man who had just entered the lodge. He was in jeans, a dark shirt and a denim jacket. And he had a gun at the ready as well. Nevertheless, what was visible of his face from under the hat and beard looked familiar to her.

„_Booker ?_" she asked, disbelief ringing through her voice.

Her intervention made Barney frown, but relax. He took the gun down.

She was right.

„What are _you_ doing here ?" Booker inquired, looking from Barney to Pepper and back.

„It´s a small world, isn´t it ?" Barney mumbled in response.

„Did _you_ break into my house ?" Booker inquired, his face showing a mixture of disapproval and amusement.

„Kind of", Barney admitted.

„It was an emergency", Pepper added. Booker looked the two of them up and down. Barney sporting some bruises was nothing new. But the sight of Pepper, looking shattered and haunted and wearing overlarge fatigues that surely didn´t belong to her made him frown.

„What the hell is going on ?" Booker asked, closing the door behind him and putting the weapon away.

„Did you get my message ?" Barney asked.

„Yeah, in fact, I did."

XXX

It turned out that Booker had not only received Barney´s message, but had also talked to Tool, but he demanded to hear about what had happened to Barney and Pepper in the morning first.

„So, these guys knocked you out and dragged you out to the airfield to question you."

Pepper nodded.

„One of them was clearly reluctant to do it", she said. „He told the other to let it go and leave with him, but the other one had different ideas. He thought clearly that I knew where to find what they were looking for. He was talking about ´stones` all the time... then the phone call came in."

„A phone call ?" Booker asked, sounding surprised. „And then they let up on you ?"

„Yeah. Whatever they were told, it must have been important. I mean they made me believe before that they had just shot Barney and that they were going to do the same to me if I didn´t answer their questions - and then they simply left ?!"

„Might have been ´cause they´ve taken the bait", Booker mused.

„What bait ?" Barney asked.

„Well, from what Tool was able to find out, this is about a lost delivery of diamonds."

„_Diamonds ?!_"

Pepper sank down to a chair.

„Yeah."

Booker nodded.

„They were not stolen all at once, but were converted sidelined step by step."

„Diamonds of all kinds of things", Pepper mumbled. „Have you guys any idea who´s involved in that kind of business in New Orleans ?"

Barney looked thoughtful while Booker shook his head.

„Tool has no useful information regarding that point so far. Well, it seems that whoever stole the diamonds asked Victor to store them for a while. He had kept this place here to do so and surely demanded quite a prize to do it."

„But if he did so, why do these guys don´t know where to look?"

„Well, it´s not that hard to hide a small bag of diamonds", Barney argued. „He could have hidden them anywhere. I guess he died before they could pick them up and he hadn´t told them where they were hidden. They have possibly looked around here first and started searching in New Orleans when they didn´t find them here."

Booker moved slightly on this chair.

„Tool said you won´t like to hear this, but it seems that your partner Phil is definitely involved in this."

Pepper kept silent for a moment.

„I still don´t believe that", she mumbled. „After all those years! Phil may be wacky and stuff, but he would never ever betray me like this!"

„I guess that he´s not doing this for his own advantage", Barney mused. „Whoever´s behind this is probably blackmailing him in some way."

„Why the hell wouldn´t he tell me ?" Pepper argued.

„Well, what does Tool think ?" Barney inquired.

„Well, there are a handful of hints. But you know, when these guys came here the first time, I was not around. I just returned the day they left", Booker explained.

„So ?" Pepper asked.

„See, when I returned, I was looking for some private time before getting into town to buy provisions, so I went up to the the lake. For some reason, they hadn´t dared to land at the airfield, and they had come by waterplane."

„So much about that", Barney mumbled.

„What´s your point ?" Pepper asked, slowly running out of patience.

„My point is, when they were here the first time, they came with your plane."

XXX

There was a pause.

„Are you sure ?" she asked.

„Well, the Icarus is yours, isn´t it ? Would be quite a coincidence if they were two such planes of the same type and with the same name ?"

„They´ve taken _my_ plane ? _My - plane ?_"

Pepper was up from her chair again. Barney could tell that her usual temper was on its way back to the surface.

„It makes sense, doesn´t it ?" Barney asked. „It would have been easy for Phil to make it _look_ as if someone had messed with your plane. And you had no closer look at the damage that day, hadn´t you ?"

She glared at him, obviously still not willing to accept what she had just heard. Finally, she shook her head.

„No."

„And Phil would know how to make things look bad and fix it quickly afterwards. You agree ?"

„Phil knows that bird inside out", she mumbled.

„So, what are we gonna do ?" Booker asked.

Barney perched an eyebrow. It had been the same with Tool and Christmas before, and the same again with those people Pepper knew in town. Everyone seemed eager to help.

„I was wondering if it would be better to stay here for the night or to move to town", Barney answered. „Well, but I hadn´t expected you of all people to turn up here."

„Well, Victor knew that this place had been deserted for a while and I was looking for some downtime after our last mutual job...but we should probably drive to town, just..."

„Hey!" Barney interrupted harshly, though the exclamation hadn´t been meant for Booker, but for Pepper.

„Where do you think you´re going ?" he added, watching her putting her boots on.

„Outside, if you don´t mind!" she snapped. „I need some air!"

Barney stared at her, surprised.

„I _do_ mind! Are you nuts ?"

„_Me_ of all people ?"

Booker looked somewhat surprised from Barney to Pepper and back.

„We´re talking here about how to keep you safe for the night and you´re telling me you´re going for a walk ?"

She stopped moving and held his gaze. It was obvious that she was only one step from freaking out. Barney was not sure if she would possibly start to cry again or simply try to kill him the way she scowled at him.

„We should probably head into town", Booker repeated, talking to Barney, but his eyes still on Pepper. „Cooter and Ellie will help us out, I am sure, and you two can try and get some sleep. You´ll need it to be fit for the flight back. And we´ll get something to eat there and Ellie can surely find some clothes for Pepper."

XXX

Pepper shivered slightly in spite of the warm clothes Ellie had found for her while watching Barney pacing up and down. They had found shelter in one of the rarely used guest rooms right above the diner. Ellie didn´t just ran the only diner around but also the only hotel.

„Stop wearing down the floorboards", Pepper demanded quietly at some point.

To her surprise, he did as told.

„I am damn sorry, girl."

She gave him a thin smile over her shoulder, finding that he looked as miserable as she felt.

„What for? I don´t want to imagine how things would look for me right now without you."

There was the small sound of an ammo clip snapping into place. She moved slightly and he realized that she held one of Victor´s weapons in her hand, checking the safety switch.

„What the hell you´re up to ?"

„Shootin´ the next goddamn bastard who´s getting close to me", she answered quietly. „Don´t think they´ll catch me off guard like that again! As if I was still twenty and a goddamn rookie in this business!"

„It was my fault..."

„It wasn´t your fault. And I´m alright."

For once, he lost countenance.

„You´re _alright_ ?! " he barked.

The level of his voice made her jump slightly and he turned away, slamming one fist against the wall.

„Stop !" she demanded.

He turned again.

„You could be dead!"

„Stop - shouting !" she demanded, sounding hoarse, but determined.

A look at her was enough to tell that she was everything but alright. And what he had heard from Tool half an hour ago hadn´t helped to enlighten his mood. For some reason, he hadn´t shared all the information with her yet.

„If this has been somebody´s fault, then it´s been mine!" she said. „That´s what hormons do - _no good_! One should think I learned that lesson twenty years ago! If I hadn´t dragged you to bed, we wouldn´t have gotten that sloppy!"

„Not that I regret the first part", she added lowly.

Finally, she sighed.

„I guess I could do with a hot shower now."

XXX

Barney realized belatedly that he listened attentively to the sounds of the running water in the bathroom. He could imagine easily that this was not only about getting warm or clean. It was about washing away the last horrible hours, the shock and the fear, as if one could wash away what had happened. t

Still, after a while, things took suspiciously long.

He knocked one knuckle softly against the door.

„Pepper ?"

There was no answer.

„Pepper, you´re alright in there ?" he asked, louder this time.

When she didn´t answer this time, he skipped all decency and opened the door.

XXX

She sat on the shower floor with her arms around her knees, water pouring down on her, the dark long hair, wet as it was, glued to her face and shoulders.

She didn´t move when he entered. Only her eyes went up to him.

He went down to one knee in front of the shower, reaching out for a towel.

„Get out of there", he suggested quietly.

She stayed still, though her eyes didn´t leave him.

„I can brave this out", she said after a long moment.

„Or that was what I thought", she added.

He kept silent, granting her the time she needed to get things off her chest.

She reached suddenly out for his hand.

„I have to, Barney - I fuckin´ _have_ to!"

„Come on", he ordered her quietly. „Get out of there."

XXX

„Where´s this gonna end ?" she asked, desperate. „First Victor dies. Then these freaks start following me and spy on me! They manipulate my friends! They´ve taken _my_ plane! And is it only me or does it nevertheless feel like these people are amateurs?"

„Go get some sleep", he suggested while drying her up. She let him, unsure what to make of it. „We´ll leave early tomorrow."

„Decided who?" she asked, but with only a trace of her usual resoluteness in her voice.

He frowned at the question, but didn´t seem willing to discuss the plan.

She touched his forearm and kept him softly from what he had been doing.

„Barney, I need to cope with this shit or I´ll never feel safe again even if this is settled some day. I´ve been kept safe for twenty years. Now it´s probably time to stand up for myself!"

„Fine", he said, looking thoughtful. „But let´s do this my way. It´s not safe here. And we need to prepare things."

She narrowed her eyes.

„What do you know that I don´t ?"

„Just trust me with this", he mumbled.

_Though it might be a hard thing to do by now._

„Why not leave now then ? Don´t tell me you don´t fly at night."

„You´re in no condition to co-pilot. And I´ll check the bird up first in the morning."

She was up to interrupt but the look he threw her silenced her for once.

„I want you safe and I won´t make another mistake like today´s. Now go."

Stepping out of her way, he dismissed her with a slight move of his head. She did obviously not take offence at the gesture, but stopped in the doorframe.

„You´re comin´ ?" she asked over her shoulder.

He held her gaze for a moment. Then he nodded.


End file.
